A Stroll Through the Mall
by writers-block-Bgone
Summary: After an extremely destructive fight against Ember gets aired from start to finish on live TV; a group of Phantom haters labels Danny as having "lost all human thought and regard for his surroundings" but a spat with Skulker and fate, may prove them wrong.
1. Back to the Beginning

A stroll through the mall.

A fic done out of boredom, and a funny thought.

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><p>Chapter 1: Back to the beginning.<p>

The clouds were light and fluffy, the streets were busy, and yet somehow still very peaceful. It was Saturday, and as per the day everyone was hanging out, shopping, and other various things someone could do on a beautiful day. It was not quite spring and not quite winter. The air was just perfect, cool, and fresh. The sun was warm and gentle...

Amongst the people hastily making their way down the streets of Amity Park's 'mall town' as it'd been nicknamed. A young homeless boy-oh wait…? No its just Danny wearing what looks like a shirt and jeans, and they've all seen better days.

Or actually in the case of Danny's clothing worse _fights.._.

Normally in a fight against any of Danny's ghost foes, a shoe would get scuffed, or a small-savable tear would be made in his shirt or jeans. He'd normally transform before it got any worse…

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><p>'<em>But NO the box-ghost just had to be so easy and he had to just give my ego such a massive boost! I can't believe after showing off to the public, and causing <em>_NO__ property damage __FOR ONCE__, I just had to trip and fall into a bunch of cruddy-thorny-bushes after changing back! I should've gone intangible! Idiot, idiot!'_

I continued to storm down the street repeating the phrase '_Idiot, idiot!'_ in my head; when my thoughts were interrupted by a very slight, very faint beeping…

Beep, beep, beep. '_Okay, it's obviously, not a cell phone…so what is it?'_ I couldn't see anyone that seemed to be bothered. That made a little since. My hearing's a lot stronger and a lot more "acute" (thank you Jazz) then a normal person's. I figured that out when I went to Sam's and heard that insane high-pitched noise from, "The Anti-Animal; the sound will drive all unwanted pests away!"

Sometimes I swear that Mr. and Mrs. Manson just _know_ about my hybrid status.

Beep. Beep. Beep. _Okay, So it's getting closer that's for sure…_ I pivoted in place, scanned the area with my sharp eyes, and got a few strange looks from bystanders. Looks however, stopped bothering me a long time ago. If someone was in danger, I'd step in and save him or her like I always do. So I'd say odd public behavior on my part, is only fair.

'_There, got'cha!' _I moved in the nick of time as a missile shot past me and continued straight through the glass doors of the mall's entrance. I closed my eyes and turned my back on the flying shards. I heard a few shouts but they still registered under the "something happened!" Shout, and not the action inducing "it's a ghost!" Shout.

The impact of the missile from inside the mall wasn't very loud. Tracking missiles usually weren't big or loud since they had to be able to fire from far away and sneak up on their prey without running low on fuel. The fact that it was beeping probably meant that it was quickly made and attached to a regular hand-held tracking device (which, usually beep like that…) thus allowing the hand-held tracker to direct the projectile towards the intended target.

And I can't remember the date when Tomas Edison discovered America…or did Washington do that? Anyway…

I should've figured it was a rotten day. Earlier I considered flying home actually, and had it not been for the morning's events I would've flown right home, and into bed…

Shows just how smart and lucky I am, doesn't it?


	2. The First Domino Falls…

Well, here you go! I don't own DP.

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><p>Chapter 2: The First Domino Falls…<p>

When you're a superhero, you're kind of like an undertaker. You can't just turn someone (anyone really,) away because you disagree, or just plain don't like the guy.

That's pretty much where I found myself just two days ago…

It was last Thursday. The day that you anticipate Friday on, and still dread the school that comes with it. There was a little incident in the lab that eventually melted into a ghost fight. Ember had managed to get out of the portal and past my parents (or more said; past my Mom.) As usual, they barged out of the house and ran in the first direction they thought she'd gone. Which, (knowing my parents) would be a completely random direction.

They obviously don't understand that even though ghosts have an obsession, or a least a sensitive nerve you _really _don't want to strike, and are sometimes more mindless then a jar of pickles. Most all ghosts know they need to take certain steps to 'take over the world' or something like that.

In Ember's case, she went straight down to the school and phased into the principal's office. She startled principle Ishiama so much that she passed out. Then Ember got on the intercom and broadcasted her music all over the school before going into hiding. Even Sam was trapped by Ember. _Sam._ _S. A. M. _

Kind of hard to imagine what that'd look like, huh? Don't try, trust me, you really don't want too. It's not pretty.

Anyway, with the whole school taken over, (teachers included when they started to chant her name and make her stronger) I had no choice but to jump right into action. I transformed, or "morphed" take your pick, into my ghostly self the second I threw myself into my locker.

Yes: I've been in my locker so many times I've mastered the proper technique of entering solo. I swear its just cause I'm so used to being in there. I mean I fell asleep in there! More then once!

When I transform it's like nothing I've ever experienced in my full or half-life. The transformation this time round felt like nothing at all with the rush I had in my human form's veins. I was only a little disappointed; but my friends were under Ember's spell so no time for the little stuff. As always the best way to get rid of the spell is to get rid of the ghost.

I flew out of Casper High as fast as earth's gravity would let me. School was out early (or at least, almost everyone was out of school, dazed but still under Ember's influence) so I began my boring search. My parents would get to the school soon since they only came quick enough when _not_ needed for a ghost emergency. So I had plenty of time to find Ember, the trick is just being able to catch the ghost without causing a gazillion dollar's worth in damage. I can handle that…

I think….


	3. The Waiting Game

I want to state a few things about the setting I have. -Danny's 15 and has had his powers for a little less then a year. -I'm going to try and expand on the DP world where Butch didn't have the chance; hopefully I can live up to his works. -Ghost watch is an actual segment in the DP world (check out epp 14) Shelly seems to be the host so I wanted to use that...

Formatting will change depending on the form of speech, and who is speaking.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. All character's belong to Butch. I only own this story featuring his wonderful world._

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><p>Chapter 3: The waiting game.<p>

When looking for a ghost like Ember, it's hard to guess where she'll strike next. She's never as obvious as the Box Ghost, and not nearly as discrete as Skulker. She's also got a lot more options. Will she go for a radio station? Or take a concert route first? At that point in the hunt all Team-Phantom could do, was stay on our toes and keep each other a phone call away.

It was around 4:30pm or so, when I hit mall town by myself. I glanced briefly and smiled at the new arcade they were building. I can't wait for them to finish it! I heard about some of the games they'll have, It'll be a really cool place to hang out and kill time for sure!

I flew about four stories high as more and more people started coming to Mall town. Since school was cleared out, a lot of kids were slowly starting to gather towards Amity's hot spots. As usual, they headed towards the main building. It's the official mall and thus, holds the food quart as well as large chain stores and restaurants.

I remained invisible and flew into Amity Mall, which is pretty much as popular as the Nasty Burger when it comes to the 'hanging out' factor. It's a very large building so it also has a few music stores that have been of interest to Ember in the past.

As I scanned the stores for signs of Ember, I noticed a large sign that directed a number of people down the mall-way.

As I flew up to the sign, I was careful not get too close to anyone in case I made any sounds or sudden movements. Amity Park may be known for its' ghosts, but the people that call this place home actually have become quite aware of their surroundings. I got within five-feet of a guy once and he called me out. Granted he only said "there's a ghost in here! I can feel a cold spot!" and pointed in my general direction, but that's still pretty impressive.

I waited a few seconds for a young lady to read the sign and be on her way. When she was gone, I concentrated from about seven feet away and began reading the information.

Part of being a hybrid is having strong senses; it's something "akin to a traditional vampire" as Sam puts it.

The sign read…

"**Welcome friend!"**

"**To the new and official home place of 101.9-APGS Amity Park's ghost station."**

"**Today we are proud to unveil Amity Park's very first all purpose radio station!" **

"**Come on in, and be there for our grand opening at 5 o'clock tonight! We are proud to welcome you and one of Amity Park's most praised teams. The popular "Ghost Watch" from channel 6, and their host Shelly Makamoto, to witness our grand unveiling."**

"**APGS is a radio station that will dedicate itself to-"**

"**-The hottest celeb topics, and music of the day."**

"**-The juiciest topics of the ghostly kind! By some of the worlds greatest spectral hunters and experts!"**

"**-Giving you the peace of mind, of an up-to-date ghost news station! Where we'll let you in on all the most recent ghost sightings, damages, and breakthrough's in research of the ghostly kind!"**

"**-Also Up-to-date traffic reports will be announced and opportunities will be given to a very few lucky teens!"**

"**So come celebrate with us, or tune in at 5:00pm sharp for our grand-opening broadcast!"**

"**101.9 APGS would like to thank the **_**Nasty Burger **_**for being the sole sponsor for our opening broadcast…."**

I didn't need to read any further it was just some odds and ends at that point. I faintly recalled hearing a few people talking about a new radio station debut. The A-list members chatted in school about how much they hoped the station would side with Phantom…

I scanned some of the pictures printed on the board. Among the ghosts, Phantom wasn't there; but spread across the top were some pretty intense looking green eyes. Probably Phantom inspired…

A radio station debut would be the perfect place for Ember to make a move. I turned away from the board and drifted at an easy pace down the large mall-way. When I arrived, I slowed down and floated just in front of the station.

Once there, I leaned in a little closer and got a small glimpse at the Ghost Watch news team. They seemed to make last minute preparations for the interview to insure that there would be no technical problems.

Behind me, people were gathered into a small crowd stationed around the large glass windows and doors of the station. They all probably hoped for the chance to get their faces on TV.

I glanced in briefly at the ghost-themed toys with a hint of amusement. The station was clearly setup to be a kind of tourist trap. There were stuffed-Skulkers (which I found extra amusing) and holy-did they have stuffed toys in Plasmius form? I leaned in a little further to see more before I pulled back sharply.

'_No Danny you may be clueless, but you're not senseless. I swear by the Reality Gauntlet there's a Ghost Shield here…'_

There was. I closed my eyes and brought my focus to my Ghost-sense. (A little trick I picked up from Frostbite a few weeks earlier.) I melted my conscious into the Cold-core of my chest and thus, through to my Ghost Sense.

I can scan an area like a submarine's radar about a mile round in any given direction when I use this little trick. It comes in handy when looking for someone-or something, ghost, human, or object.

For a moment, I focused on the area directly in front of me and-There! A Ghost Shield was blocking my "radar" from sensing anything in or about two-feet around the station's walls and windows.

I began to pull out of my core, which for me is kind of like waking up suddenly from a deep sleep. When I pulled out, I flinched a little bit from the sensation and made a small gasping noise. I reflexively covered my mouth and looked around. People were at a little unease close by, but otherwise went about their business as they waited for the grand opening. Something tells me that they were too excited for a chance to spend a little bit of their 15-minutes of fame, to even notice anything strange.

'_Note to self: work on getting out of my Cold-Core-Trance silently…'_

So APGS was a no go because of the shield…but did Ember know that?

I flew up and fazed through the roof, glad to be somewhere no one could directly see me. I became visible, pulled my glove half way off of my hand, and looked at my watch.

'_4:53pm; well, might as well stay for the debut and see what happens…'_

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><p>The next chapter's gonna be a long one. I'm going to put the entire fight in one chapter...It'a already 1100+words and the battles only begun!<p>

See you Sunday!

WBBG


	4. Fight for the Cameras

Hey guys! Well, I managed to put the whole fight in one chapter. :) Enjoy.

I don't own DP.

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><p>Chapter 4: Fight for the cameras.<p>

When a hunter waits for his prey he waits for hours upon hours with unwavering patience…

When you're 14, don't have a music player of some sort, and probably could've gone without two extra spoonfuls of sugar in your cereal that morning... Five minutes of waiting can seems impossible. Let alone the _7_ I had to wait for the radio station debut!

I spent the whole time staring at my watch as I counted the seconds that passed, and enjoyed the irony of my situation. Hey, not even I'd ever thought one day I'd actually want a ghost to show up and fight.

By 4:59pm, I briefly wondered if my watch was fast. I thought about using my Ghost Sense to look for Ember, but discarded the thought instantly.

Ember isn't the fastest flyer I've ever faced by a long shot, but she had, and still has, one of the best (and most dramatic) teleporting abilities I've ever seen, save for Wolf. So I knew Ember would (literally) arrive out of the blue. So when dealing with her, it's always a good idea to let my normal ghost sense take over. Even though normal really isn't a fitting word for me…

I fazed back through the roof as the crowd began to shout and hold up sings up to the APGS windows. Nobody I knew was there, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few kids from my school were present.

I descended till my feet were only a yard or two off the ground and carefully remembered to stay invisible and intangible. Hey, the news-cameras may love me, but that doesn't mean I love them.

As I floated, my phone confirmed that it was five o'clock by vibrating. I pulled my cell phone out and turned the screen visible on it's own.

"_**No sign you? -Sam"**_

"_**No sign you? –TF"**_

These messages have been routine for a while now. Jazz had made me text in every hour on the hour when I went ghost hunting. Tuck, Sam, and I adopted the system ourselves, and now each of us sends a text message hourly during a hunt. Using this method: we keep track of each other and prevent anyone from going missing unnoticed for long.

I considered texting them back the same message…Even though I really didn't know if Ember would show up or not. I glanced around a little and felt a tingle build up in my chest. I blinked and then gasped. My Ghost-Sense had arrived, finally! That meant I had seconds before I got a visual on the ghost. I quickly pressed the 'panic' button Tuck had installed on my phone. This would send an automatic distress message to Sam and Tucker while my phone's GPS would kick in and send my location straight to Tucks PDA.

While I floated there, I half-hoped it was Ember. If the Box Ghost showed up one more time, I swore he'd get the beating of his afterlife…On the other hand I didn't want Ember around all those people.

I kept sharp enough to barely notice a small fog as it formed on the shield's invisible surface. It wasn't half a second before it became a dense blue flame that danced on the shield.

When Ember was thrown out of the flame I cringed. She hit the ground face first making a creator in the broken tiles.

I briefly recalled one time when I hit an invisible ghost shield head on at about a 120 MPH. Since then I've gained the skill to sense shields before I hit them, but I still felt sorry that she took a hit like that.

I had to give her credit, that really showed her skill in her trade. Not even Vlad can pull out of teleportation like that. It's almost impossible if you're right in the middle of the action.

Now this is where the chaos really started cooking. Since everyone was crowded around the windows, the flames erupted above, and in a few cases, behind them. Ghosts were on every one's mind but fire is a fear imprinted into all living beings.

Was it simply a run from a ghost fight? Well, it turned into a mass panic that had no concern for the people in or around itself. In fact: more then 90% of ghost related injuries are always the result of trying to get away from the fight, not from getting in the cross-fire.

I slipped my phone into my pocket and tightened the Fenton-Thermos's belt on my shoulder. It was either going to be easy (because she probably felt like she'd been hit by a semi-truck) or it was going to be very hard (She was extremely ticked.)

I became visible and landed in a fighting stance. Ember was getting up and I didn't want her target to be anybody, but me.

Her hair and makeup were comically messed up. I would've laughed and given my input of a sarcastic comment, had she not been practically growling at me.

She stood straight up, leaned back, pulled her guitar from her back, and struck a destructive chord at me. I dodged and let the mass off energy fly by me, and into the adjacent store.

My ears were sharp and alert, so it wasn't hard to tell that the windows weren't the only glass item that was broken. More and more screaming came from what sounded like the entire mall. I had to ignore them in favor of any warnings I could pick up from Ember's movements.

I flew at Ember and blew her a punch in the gut. The punch knocked her up and off her feet for about ten yards. As she tried to gain her balance I flew up to her at half my full speed and hit her torso again.

The next time, I focused my energy on forcing her up and thought the roof. A fight in the sky would be a lot more convenient and hopefully, a lot less messy.

I followed her up and through the roof. When I was high above the mall, I struck a mid-air fighting stance and put up my guard. Ember had regained her balance and floated about twenty yards in front of me.

"You just picked the wrong time to mess with me Dipstick!" she hollered.

"And you just picked the wrong dipstick to mess with!" I hollered back.

I flew at her to try another punch. But as the saying goes: fool me once shame on me, fool me twice shame on you, try and fool me a third time and buddy, you're asking for it.

Ember struck another chord at me. I reacted immediately by pulling up an iron-shield to deflect it. I actually _felt_ as the attack hit my shield with enough force to fold me over my shield, head over heels. I didn't predict that the Destructive chord would hit me so low.

I face planted onto my own shield and heard the weakened mass of energy hit somewhere on the ground.

Ember laughed, "What's the matter Dipstick? All outta ballet practice?"

I groaned but didn't retort. No doubt that ten minutes after I put her back in the zone, my little slip-up would be the talk among the ghosts…

As I pushed off my shield and let it dissolve, Ember snarled at me. She seemed to enjoy mocking me like that.

I flew in a serpentine pattern as I tried to dodge and fire ghost rays simultaneously. '_How can she be so strong when there isn't any chanting around?' _I wondered.

My thoughts betrayed me and Ember landed another successful hit with the body of her guitar. She knocked me completely out of the air and towards street. I hit the ground _hard._

I managed to push myself up high enough to get a grip on some upturned asphalt long enough to shake off my injuries. I looked straight to the skies for Ember and noted that there were still a few people in the streets.

I almost yelled at them to leave however, they were completely fixated on Ember. Speaking of _witch_, she was headed at me for a ground-pound. I jumped out of her way just before her feet hit the ground and deepened the creator.

I corkscrewed, landed, let my hands glow green, and my eyes glow pale blue. That's when the little birdie put the pieces together for me. All of the people fixated at her were teenagers! She was gaining her power from everyone she hypnotized back at Casper!

I gulped, "Nice job Ember. Finally decided to trade in the adoring fans in favor of the petrified zombie-following?"

She grinned at me and held her guitar at the ready, "As a matter of fast yes; with them quiet, my music can ring loud and clear!" She struck a power chord at me and to my horror, a few teens behind me.

I duplicated instantly into three Phantoms. I sent the two duplicates to aid three petrified teens in harms way. Mikey was one of them as I found out from the mental link I shared with my duplicates. The duplicates grabbed all three and flew them away from the battle.

Quicker then Clockwork can blink, the two of them decided to start clearing the area of other teens…

It felt like time slowed down as the destructive chord screamed directly towards me at a faster and more powerful level then the first two. I knew that I couldn't allow the stores behind me to get blasted.

Besides, I had a new trick up my sleeve I was curious about, and Ember had enough bad luck to be the first ghost to get in its' way.

I inhaled, let my shoulders relax, and my chest expand. Then I leaned slightly forward, squeezed my eyes shut, and took my most stable stance. Only just seconds before Ember's attack rang-two…

_**THROMM!**_

Ember never saw that coming. With my eyes shut, I could easily see the visual intake of one of my Phantom duplicates. I got a bird's eye view of my vocal attack as it creamed the destructive chord into non-existence, as if it wasn't even in its' path at all.

And it didn't stop there, it hit Ember head on and blew her back towards the mall. My duplicate lost sight of her at that point, but he, and the other flew into the building to look for innocent bystanders in harms way.

I noted from a duplacate's vision that everyone woke up dazed but otherwise completely unharmed, unlike me. I focused on sensing my body from head to toe for injuries. My nose was bloody, I had a few cuts, and sore back, but nothing that wouldn't heal in two days maximum.

I opened my eyes and severed the mental link between my duplicates and me. From what I could hear, Ember was either out of action or gone completely.

As expected and dreaded, my attack didn't blow down buildings and flatten the field like my Ghostly wail would've done. But the destruction was still present. I floated up and flew into the mall passing the cracked buildings, street, and sidewalk. I flew through a spot where a wall used to occupy. Then past that, and discovered my attack had knocked through the second wall, and forced Ember through the third.

I kept flying onward while gently rubbing my throat. Despite how much less energy and force I had to use for that attack. It was still derived from my Ghostly-Wail, and as such, it hurt my throat just the same.

As I flew up, my duplicates to form a mid-air triangle. We instantly exchanged thoughts and statuses. Both of them were in good shape and would last for a while. They had also cleared the area of people, but still hadn't checked the place where Ember crash-landed.

I turned, and with my clones, I started to search the rubble. To my relief, the APGS station took very little damage. The shield seemed to be down for the moment, possibly short-circuited.

Despite the small amount of damage done to the station, I couldn't help but cringe at what people would say about it…

My clones had been searching for Ember when one of them succeeded and pinpointed her location. I flew with my other duplicate towards the spot where he (my duplicate) called.

We arrived and lined up side by side above her. She was in a hibernating state, which ghosts slip into when they take too much damage, or loose too much energy. That meant she was harmless for the moment, and wouldn't wake up for a while.

I pulled my thermos out from behind me to give to one of my duplicates. It was damaged during the fight, so he'd have to fixit and use it on Ember soon. My other duplicate was allowed to wander freely to examine the damage to the station in greater detail. He confirmed to me, that the shield was out just before I flew to the front of the station. I thought I'd heard people coming back in.

I arrived and floated in place. I casually looked to my left when-"Danny Phantom!" I would've looked directly at the shouter, but one of my clones painfully forced a thought and image into my head. My eyes widened, "NO!"

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><p>See you next Sunday and Merry Christmas!<p> 


	5. In High Heels

Hi everyone! Hope you had a Merry Christmas! Here's a really long update for you.

As always, I don't own Danny Phantom, or Shelly Makamoto, or Ember McLain. Right's to them go to Butch and Nick Studios. However, all other OC's in this story (Mac, Amanda, Jake) are mine along with this story so please don't use them or post this story elsewhere.

Thanks for the support everyone! Your reviews and comments make this so exciting for me!

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><p>Told in the POV of Shelly Makamoto.<p>

Chapter 5: In high-heels.

Okay, stay calm girl. You're a top-notch female reporter hosing a popular news segment, witnessing the most talked about event this week. No pressure what so ever. It's only a live broadcast and without a teleprompter of any kind. I can handle that.

"Mac!" I shouted when my hairbrush magically wasn't where I'd left it.

"Hey Shelly," Mac smirked, "can you try and use my name nicely every now and again?"

"No time Mac! I need my hairbrush! I can't do a live broadcast with messy hair!"

"Ha ha, really Shell. Uh, you can't just use your hands? I mean it's so short, and what part of "I'm a camera man, not your personal hairstylist" don't you understand?"

"Mac," I said in a pleading annoyed way, "you're a guy! You can't possibly comprehend the immense importance of a woman's hairbrush!"

He pulled out a spare hairbrush, "What I can't-uh comprehend Shell, is half those words."

I took the brush form him and smiled, "and that Mac, is why you're the camera man." I looked him up and down. He fit the roll of a cameraman: a little sloppy, but hard working, and exceedingly good at his job. He was bit of a prankster, but his jokes and funny faces kept me just chirpy enough for the audience.

I ran the brush through my hair and let Mac return to his techno camera stuff. He always liked to triple check everything to prevent on-screen errors and he hadn't had one yet.

The manager of the APGS station signaled the five-minute warning and took her place to be interviewed. She was clearly almost as excited as I was. We were all confident that the station would be a bigger hit then had been predicted. And I, Shelly Makamoto, would smile up at the camera and announce the debut to all of Amity!

"Shelly, Shelly, Shell, SHELLY!"

"Ahh!" I yelled, and spun on my heels, and nearly lost my balance; "Mac! What'd you do that for?"

He smiled gently at me, oh I hated it when he did that. While his mouth said 'innocent' his eyes sparkled under his brown bangs saying 'sucker.'

"We're on in two Shell, so you might want to ditch the foot-twigs unless you want to taste floor half-way through the interview."

I glared at him. The "foot-twigs" he talked about were my brand new four-inch-healed-outfit-matching red shoes. They were a gift from the manufacturer, all I had to do was wear them on screen, even if they wouldn't bee seen, and I was NOT taking them off. Did they hurt? Yes, but they just looked so good on me.

"Humph" I wined, "I can handle these shoes no matter what!"

"Really Shell?" he teased, "Then tell you what; fifty-bucks says 'you trip or fall during the interview' how bout it?"

I bit my lip and let it go when I caught the bad habit in action. No point in ruining my lipstick over a bet right? "Okay Mac," I said slowly, "You're on." We shook hands and went to our places.

"Thirty-seconds left and counting," Mac announced.

I stood next to the manager, a beautiful young girl named Amanda. She was nineteen, on the short side, and wore her honey-brown hair in waves mid-way down her back. Quite young, but also quite experienced as I'd heard before, she seemed very nice.

"Ten-second warning," Mac said. He signaled me the 5,4,3,2,1, countdown with his hand and replaced it on his camera. Jake (another techno worker of the Ghost-Watch crew) gave me the thumbs up and a charming smile.

The fans started screaming and holding their signs of support, so I looked into the camera and did my duty…

"Hello Amity Park, and welcome to 'Ghost-Watch' the team that brings you all your ghostly news. Today we're bringing you live to the debut of Amity Parks' Ghost Station, APGS. I'm standing here with the Manager of this new station, Miss Amanda Hounds." I shifted carefully towards Amanda. "So Miss Hounds, would you mind answering a few questions to satisfy your curious fans?"

Amanda smiled a million dollar smile, "I'll answer everything I can."

I kept chirpy, "Wonderful, so first question: what kind of knowledge will the station provide for the public?"

Amanda's eyes lit up, "The station will revolve mostly around the knowledge of ghosts. We have a hard working team that has compiled information about ghosts and compared it with what we've seen in Amity to screen out some facts. And, using Fenton equipment, we'll be able to spot ghost fights and warn the public about them."

"That's wonderful. Do you believe the station will improve the safety of the public?"

She paused for a second, "Yes and No. Right now, we can only broadcast the location of the fight to whoever's listening, we also can't make people leave the area, or stop them if they want to go watch the fight. So really, all we can to is to keep out promise to inform and warn. As a bonus, we might be able to chart some kind of pattern, or place that ghost fights are more likely to appear." She brightened up a little at that last part.

'_Okay_' I thought; '_she's a smart girl; now try this'_. "Very interesting; now would you answer the biggest question posed about the station?" She nodded her head yes, a signal for me to continue, "Thank you. Where does the station stand on the matter of Phantom? Do you believe he's a good ghost, or a bad ghost?"

She brightened at the question, clearly interested in the subject. I glanced at Jake to make sure he'd been getting her answers, and barely noticed Mac falter with the camera. He'd get an earful for that.

Amanda spoke confidently; "The station has decided to"-"EVERYONE!" Mac interrupted, "HIT THE DIRT!"

Jake looked at Mac, then to where he was pointing. His eyes got wide and he dove for Amanda and me. He hooked his arms around our waists and knocked us off our feet, protecting as much of our bodies beneath his own as he could.

I turned my head from under Jake to glare death at Mac, he was on his knees but still filming what ever it was he shouted about. I heard the crowd scream in fear instead of excitement, and thought; '_oh God, please don't tell me that someone pulled a gun out in the crowd_.' Finally, Jake got off Amanda and me and helped us up. I turned instantly towards the window and gasped.

Danny Phantom was brawling against a Guitar wielding ghost. I'd seen her before, she called herself Ember. The ghost called Ember put out a powerful attack in the direction opposite us and hit a shop. Phantom flew up in retaliation and punched her gut once, then a second time so hard it launched her through the roof.

I was dumbfounded and Jake was forced to slap me to get my attention. I'd been spacing out a lot that day and that's dangerous when so close to a fight.

"Come one Shell!" Jake screamed at me, "We've got to get out of here! If Phantom brings the fight back into the mall it'll become a tomb!"

I nodded my head and helped Jake hoist Amanda onto his shoulders. She was out cold but thankfully, she didn't seem injured.

I stuck around for a second to see if anyone was still there before I left. Mac must've gotten out when I helped Jake. People were still running around so I walked out of the station and kept to the nearest wall. Everyone was running and screaming like crazy. Through the commotion I was barely able to see Mac go through an obscure door that wasn't labeled as an exit.

It was stupid, but I went after him. I opened the door and paused at the stairs ahead of me. Dang heels, if it wasn't for the glass everywhere they would've been off in a heartbeat.

I grabbed the handrail and hoisted myself up to the door at the top of the stairs. I grabbed and turned the handle, and slammed my hip into the door to make it open.

One more shove and the door creaked open enough for me to squeeze through. Mac was in view, completely focused on something. I paused and looked to where his camera was pointed.

It was Danny Phantom and Ember in mid air combat! Mac was SO getting a raise for catching that! Phantom's shield was hit and he tipped over, which landed him a face plant on his own shield. I flinched and crossed my fingers in hopes we were still on a live broadcast.

My heels made noise but Mac still didn't notice me until we were side by side. He just gave a wry grin and followed Phantom as he hit the ground. That's when we discovered the people in the streets just standing there.

Phantom must've seen them to, he seemed to panic for a second, but Ember landed on the street and grabbed his attention again. They seemed to be talking, but we were too far to hear them speak.

The street ran horizontally to Mac, the mall, and me. Ember was on the side closest to us, and Danny Phantom on the other. The ghost Ember, lifted her guitar and a lot of things happened.

Her attack seared the air with a resounding chord and Danny Phantom split into three different Phantoms! They dove away and let the first Phantom deal with the attack. It happened in seconds but it seemed so much longer, Danny Phantom looked completely concentrated on the oncoming attack-

_**THROOM!**_

Mac and I were blown off our feet! I shut my eyes and hit the ground hard. Mac fell nearby and let his camera fall safely on his chest. He looked completely shocked, but somehow he managed to get up and help me.

"Did you hear that?" Mac asked as he helped me to my feet.

"Of course I did idiot! Danny Phantom just blew us back ten-feet! We'll be lucky if we aren't bleeding outta our ears!"

Mac flinched at my shouting, "Nope Shell, I can hear you as loud as ever, so I think we'll be okay."

I glared at him, but before I could say anything else he ran back for his camera and headed for the door we got out through.

"Mac, are you crazy? Mac?" I uttered something under my breath and stormed after him.

The entire roof had been shaken and the door didn't open right. It took us a few minutes to pull it open enough to step through. Mac rushed down the stairs and peaked through the door at the bottom. He nodded back to me.

"Need help coming down those stairs Shell?"

I planted my feet carefully step after step, "No, and I believe I've won the bet."

Mac looked at me strangely then softened, "Yeah I guess that's fair, you did make it through the interview without tripping over your feet-"

"And the stairs too" I said as I made the last step, but I stumbled at the bottom and Mac had to catch me. We looked at each other and Mac smirked, "I still win camera-boy."

"Whatever Shell," and we reentered the mall.

There didn't seem to be any ghosts around so we didn't bother trying to sneak. As if I could anyway.

"So Mac," I asked in a hushed tone, "what now? The mall itself doesn't seem very bad…" I turned to Mac, I'd spoken too soon, "Mac, Please tell me your cameras' rolling?"

"It is Shell," he swooped the camera over the destroyed walls, "I'm still recording, and I think the station's still picking up our live signal…"

I looked around wildly, "C'mon Mac; It'll do us a lot of good in bonus' if we film this before anyone else does."

Mac looked solemn, "I just want to see how big a mess Phantom made…"

Mac kept walking, I froze. Phantom…He'd get a blow in the ratings for the damage, and that…was very good news for my paycheck. I smirked and caught up with Mac.

We walked passed ruined store after store. Mac slowed down to show the damage, while I Identified what I could and explained how it was Danny Phantom who was responcible.

I was just about to stir up the Phantom is good/evil conflict by questioning if anyone remotely good to do this, when Mac silenced me with a look. He pointed in the direction we were walking and gestured for me to hide with him.

A piece of torn down wall was enough for us both to hide behind. Mac pointed past our hiding place, to his chest, and past our hiding place again.

I scrunched up my nose in confusion. Mac repeated the gesture harshly, then comically opened his mouth, and tightened his throat as if to shout. I shoved him and stood up, if he wanted to play games he obviously wasn't reading the situation very well.

Mac croaked a small "wait" but I ignored him. I wanted a video to shock the world and Mac wasn't helping.

I grumbled in annoyance and turned from him, just to see "DANNY PHANTOM!" I hollered out loud in surprise. Danny Phantom whipped his head around with a bewildered look on his face. I became aware that Mac was right beside me and still filming.

Danny Phantom's face changed, he turned around sharply to look behind him. He screamed-

"NO!"

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><p>Gosh now I'm just being...Evil. Hey this parts important, and 6 pages long in word...<p>

_-'What to call Amanda...Hmm, she needs a last_ name**-BROWWW!-**(beagle bark)_ That's it; hounds! _

_-'What to call the station...Lets see; well it is Amity Parks Ghost news Station...um; A-Amity P-Parks G-Ghost S-station. APGS!'_

-I bet if I ever have a kid. I'll name it after whatever month he/she's born in...

See you next Sunday! Where we'll finally find out what the "NO" is about!


	6. Faults and Friends

No update next week. I don't own DP

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><p>Danny's POV<p>

Chapter 6: Faults and Friends.

At first, duplicating myself was really hard. Separating energy to form multiple bodies would be hard for anyone I guess, but I love using that trick. They come through for me every time and do exactly what I'd do in their place.

People might think that duplicates would give me a headache from all the information I get when I absorb them. That just isn't true, duplication is the one power I have that we can't really figure out.

If I want to have any mental connection painlessly I have to be within a few feet of them. Otherwise the only thing I can do, is shut my eyes and look through theirs. When I absorb them completely, they show and tell what I absolutely need to know, not everything they've experienced. Those are the only painless ways of commutating with my duplicates we know of so far. What my clone was doing made my brain feel like it was being stabbed with a hot-iron sword…

My clone had wandered back into APGS to see how badly the electronics were fairing. The image he shoved into my head was of the ghost shield generator in very bad shape. The thought he shoved in to my head, was _'THE ANTI-ECTO POWER CELLS ARE DAMAGED! THERE'RE GONNA BLOW!'_

And then came the point the author has made you quite familiar with. I turned from the reporter and cameraman. With my face in shock, I faced the station.

"NO!"

Is the author going to cruelly leave you here again? No? All right then, wow, moving on.

My parents designed the ghost shield generator in APGS. As always with their designs, there had to be something about it that, at some point, would go boom. "Anti-ecto power cells," were that thing.

For humans, It'd be the explosion equivalent of a stick of dynamite. Shrapnel is the biggest concern for anyone nearby. But for us ghosts? Well, for us it's like an atom bomb.

I flew to save Ember and mentally regretted my hero-complex. The clone that was guarding Ember lifted her onto my back, and took off with me. The other sacrificed himself to try and stall the unstable power cells.

We flew straight up to the sky and hoped to ditch the shockwave that would easily reach twenty miles. We hit about nineteen when I felt my clone's essence come back to me.

Using the new deadly motivation and energy, my leftover clone and I kept flying up side by side. Looking over our shoulders would slow us down and the blast was no doubt traveling fast. I gritted my teeth and held back my fears.

If I turned human I wouldn't be affected much, but Ember would be dead, and I'd fall into the 'particle zone' so I would be able to fly anyway.

My clone understood my distress and pulled back to fly about ten yards behind me. I felt where he was and especially felt when he was hit and absorbed as well. Another thought-message was implanted from him as he merged with me, _'It's weak, keep flying just a little longer.' _

I couldn't stop myself anymore, I looked below me to see nothing but the clouds being disrupted.

The disruption got closer and disrupted the clouds less, and less. I looked away and shut my eyes.

The blast faded into nothingness. The clouds took to normalcy again as if nothing had ever happened. I felt a little updraft and nothing else… I looked the clouds below me. I wound up much higher then anticipated. I guessed that my height was about forty or fifty miles up, more then twice what I'd though possible for the blast to reach.

I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding and looked into the sunset. It was beautiful on the horizon and just too fantastic to waste. Funny how much you love a chance in life, when you almost loose your chance to live. Well, halfa life anyway…ha ha.

I flew home, avoidedthe 'particle zone,' and calmly thought of nothing but dinner, and my cozy soft bed…

Stupidly enough I didn't remember I was still carrying Ember till I nearly dropped her off the Ops center. Whoops, well what she doesn't know can't hurt her…

I put her in a spare thermos, texted Sam and Tuck that I was okay, ate an early dinner, and went to bed extra early. My room was as messy as ever, but still the most comfortable place in the world to me. The covers felt so nice, and they warmed up nicely…I unplugged my alarm clock so I could sleep through till Sunday…

Thoughts of the fight seemed to pass me by, I was completely exhausted and careless. I made a mental note to tell Jazz about everything that'd happened. There was only one other thing I needed to make note of…something right on the tip of my tongue…

I cursed out loud. "THE REPORTERS!"

Frantically, I flew out of bed and grabbed my phone. It felt like forever before it finally turned on and warmed up. Honestly, Tucker could make his PDA jump up and down and dance the Hula if he wanted to, but somehow not even he could make my phone any faster.

I dialed Sam's cellphone in a heartbeat. One ring, two rings and-yes! She answered!

"Da-?" "SAM!" I yelped, "I need a favor. Have you heard anything about any reporters in the mall during the fight?"

"Danny calm down-"

"How can I calm down when I've let _them_ down Sam?"

She grumbled openly into the phone, "I thought you already knew, so Tuck and I didn't bother saying anything. We just figured you were either okay with it, or needed some time alone."

"Sam!" I transformed and flew through my wall, "what wouldn't I be okay with exactly?"

"Danny, are you? Never mind, look both of them are still alive it's just that-"

I flew into her room, "Just that what?" To my surprise she just sat on her bed and closed her phone. She must've known I'd come to her in a hurry.

"Well, Shelly Makamoto's fine. Last I heard from Tuck, she only had a few injuries, but nothing that would scar." I flew over to her bed and collapsed face first into it.

"And what about the camera man?" I asked into a pillow.

"He's," she started, "worse for wear, we don't really know how he's doing right now, but he is alive."

I rolled on my back and looked at her. Sam's room was dark, (as usual) and she was still in her street cloths, minus the boots. Her dark hair was down it'd grown out quite a bit in the last year, and it bounced on her shoulders, and framed her face naturally.

I relaxed and transformed back into Danny Fenton, as if I hoped that it would hide my mistake, "I still can't believe I left them behind like that…"

Sam straightened then sighed, "Danny, why don't you tell me what happened. I've been on and off the phone with Tucker since he watched he news, but he hasn't been a lot of help. He seemed excited about something, and I couldn't figure out what." She got up and motioned for me to join her on her beanbag chairs she had across the bedroom, "besides, I've got a few questions."

We sat down, "So explain." She commanded.

So I did… I told her everything, from when I first landed on the mall roof, to dropping-I mean _nearly_ dropping Ember off the Ops center, and to the revelation I had that regarded my royal mistake. Okay, so maybe I didn't go into deep detail about how a big chunk of the mall had been pulverized, but I was distracted, okay?

Then I answered a few questions about the power-cell explosion and clarified a few things for her. We were almost about to call it a night.

"I guess I'll see you later, unless you have anymore questions for me…?"

She paused and looked me up and down. "Just one," she said calmly, then cracked a mysterious smirk, "how long have you been sleeping shirtless, clueless?"

My jaw dropped and I looked myself over. I was so hasty to get to bed I didn't bother wearing a shirt and I hadn't noticed it the entire time. I blushed heavily as Sam laughed loudly.

"Alright," she said as she smiled, "get back home and get plenty of rest this weekend. Or else, come School on Monday, you might forget to wear pants."

"Hey!" I whined, which only made her laugh harder, and me, blush harder. "Alright, alright already, I'm gone. See you later!"

She only laughed and waved in return. "Get plenty of sleep," she said, "Tucker and I'll come over around ten in the morning to look this whole mess over."

"Eleven," I said, and became Phantom.

"Ten-Thirty or bust, Danny. Now go get some sleep, already."

"Alright, alright Mom." I made a face and flew home as Sam laughed…

* * *

><p>Well at least it's not really a cliffhanger... Anti-Ecto Power-Cells. Well the DP universe has dumber names to offer. :) Hope you liked my little bit on duplicates, and I hope Danny and Sam didn't seen really strange...<p>

"Stupidly enough,

I didn't remember,

I was still carrying Ember,

till I nearly dropped her,

off the Ops center."

"Whoops, well what she doesn't know can't hurt her…"

OH. MY. GOSH. I've spent hours trying to write a decent poem, and somehow, while writing fan-fiction, I DO IT SUBCONSCIOUSLY? How does that work? And it's kinda funny too. :)

Anyway. Glad to finally have Sam in for the mix…Hope you liked it! Next time I'll somehow balance squeezing two chapters into one.

Read & Review! See you next Sunday!


	7. The Morning After

Chapter 7: The Morning After.

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><p>(POV of Tucker Foley.)<p>

"Mom, Dad, I'm going to Danny's! I'll be home for meatloaf!"

"Take care!"

"I will." Hi, Tuck here, and it's about time.

I left home around ten and headed for Danny's place. In my backpack I carried my laptop among all my other awesome technology. I knew that we would need it for reviewing the videos, and plus, I'm cool like that.

Speaking of videos, Sam really needs to see the broadcasted videos and we both really needed to have a talk with Danny. I could hardly sleep a wink last night I was so shocked...

While lost in my thoughts, I rounded a curb and nearly hit Sam head on. "Hey" I said, "try and be more careful, will you Sam?"

She gave me a 'shut-your-mouth' glare, which I obeyed. "I will when you will," she said.

We walked together and rounded the last curb to the Fenton's place, "Danny's parents won't be home all day and neither will Jazz, she told me so. I'm not sure why, so let's get started right away."

I nodded as we walked up to the Fenton's front door, and Sam pulled at the handle.

She jiggled it roughly, "Locked," she said…

Awkwardness: enter center stage. It was like being locked out of our own house. We spend more waking hours at Danny's then anyplace else. Sam knocked and rung the doorbell a few times, while I just sat there.

"So," Sam finally spoke up, "what had you so edgy yesterday?"

"You'll see," I replied. Sam didn't seem very relaxed today, she was talking monotone and her eyes didn't seem to look anywhere but dead ahead. I probably looked pretty tired myself.

About a minute later, we heard oddly paced footsteps headed for the door. By that time Sam looked like she'd break it down herself.

Finally Danny opened the door and-oh boy. I couldn't believe the look on Sam's face when Danny finally showed up, and with-OUT a shirt on. I covered my mouth to keep from cracking up. It was all I could do.

Danny looked half asleep. Sam just gawked, and turned a deep shade of red.

Danny yawned, "It's not ten-thirty yet." He leaned into the door.

Sam snapped out of her trance and pushed past Danny. "It's close enough Danny. We've got work to do."

He groaned, "Not until ten-thirty."

"C'mon dude," I followed Sam into the living room, "we've got some pretty big fish to fry." I noticed Sam wore a funny look on her face, and then she went into the kitchen.

Danny collapsed face-first into the couch, "five more minutes."

_Well_, I thought, _might as well get my computer ready_. At this point, I heard Sam walk back into the living room. Danny and Sam aren't the only ones with trained senses, which meant that I didn't even bother to look her way. That is, until I heard the shrieking.

I whipped around, (expertly I might add) and got ready to run-I mean fight.

Turns out I didn't need to do anything but laugh like crazy. Danny was soaking wet and wore an expression of unmatched hilarity, as Sam stood over him by the couch. She held in her hand a very suspicious looking empty water glass.

Danny sputtered. I laughed harder, "What was that for?" he shouted at the wall.

"Oh," Sam said, "You're awake? Good." She said sadistically, "let's get this over with, shall we?" Danny nodded in defeat, "Great, now go get dressed."

Danny slumped up the stairs so I turned the TV on and jumped on the couch.

"You'd think he'd learn one of these days to listen to you, right Sam?"

Sam grabbed a pillow and sat on the floor. "You still haven't," she smirked, "Turn the channel on 4, I want to see what's on the news."

"Hey, wait just a," Sam swiped the remote form me, "minute," I finished lamely.

She turned the channel immediately to Action News and sat patiently through the commercials. I pulled out Lola (which I'm proud to say, is my newest PDA) and goofed off.

Danny sauntered down the stairs and gave Sam a weird look. Then he sat down on the floor not to close, but not to far from her, and hugged his knees. Yes I notice these things. There's an open bet in school on which semester they're finally going notice each other, and I plan to win it.

"So, what're we watching?" Danny asked.

"The news," Sam replied plainly, and looked back at Danny, "do you honestly think that yesterdays fight won't be the talk of the town for a while?"

Danny inclined his head and I nudged Sam with my boot. She glared at me, so I gestured to Danny's slumped shoulders. She backed off after that.

"Anyway," Sam said, "I heard that Vlad's called a town meeting pronto. It starts at eleven, and is supposed to take a lunch break about an hour in."

Danny sat tall at the mention of Vlad, he looked at the screen with determination and finally, the commercials were over.

The reporter (some blonde who was way to perky) introduced herself as Tiffany Snow, and thanked the viewers for tuning in.

"Good morning," she finished, "moving on, today I'm substituting for reporter Shelly Makamoto. Who, as you all have heard, bravely captured the most brilliant footage of a ghost fight ever recorded, along with the assistance of cameraman, Mike."

I paused my game, "I though the cameraman's name was Mac?"

She went on, "Shelly Makamoto was fairly unharmed and was released from the hospital this morning. We bring you live to Ms. Makamoto now."

Shelly's face appeared on the right half of the screen, and Danny flinched at a bruise on her face. "Hi Tiff!" Shelly said.

"Hello Shelly, so, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, the Dr. said I'll be good as new very soon."

"That is just absolutely wonderful. And speaking of wonderful, how did you ever find the courage to get closer to Danny Phantom in action, then anyone has ever dared before?"

"Reporters instincts, Ms. Snow."

"I see, and how did Ms. Hounds fare?"

Shelly blinked a few times, "She's alright, and the Dr. said something about passing out from shock. I guess it was all just too much for her."

"I see, well, thank you for joining us Ms. Makamoto."

"Your welcome Tiff." Shelly's video feed was taken down.

Danny shouted at the TV, "What about the cameraman?"

Sam punched his shoulder, "there's no use getting mad at the TV Danny. Just watch."

We all watched and listened for a while. That's when our jaws dropped, well, Sam's and mine did, Danny hid his face entirely…

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><p>WOW. I pulled this together in one night…Hope there aren't a load of mistakes. My exams are over! And I couldn't be more tired.<p>

Anyways, I don't own DP, or any character (except Mac) in this chapter. All credit for characters goes to Butch.

See you next Sunday! If I get a creative streak, I might even update sometime mid-week!

Yikes, there's that rhyming again. I think they're two or three more in the chapter, too.


	8. Bad News, Bad News, and That's All Folks

I'll give myself a pat on the back for my personal longest update yet at about 3,500 words of story! We've reached way past 2,000 hits folks, thanks! :D

This part of the story might seem a little slow, and since my computer failed me on the last update, I feel like I owe you guys. So, I'm going to make updates REALLY long for a few chapters. I'm going to try and get back to "The Stroll Through the Mall" part after the next chapter.

I don't own DP.

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><p>Chapter 8: Bad News, Bad News, and That's All Folks.<p>

(Tuckers POV.)

Sam and Danny were still sitting on the floor quietly, thankfully. Tiffany Snow had just finished interviewing Shelly Makamoto. I sat comfortably on the couch.

"So don't touch that remote," Tiffany said, "when we come back, we'll review the stunning battle footage and break down the most important parts."

Danny groaned and Sam excused herself to the kitchen to make popcorn. Danny didn't say he wanted any… None of us were in really high moods today. I knew what Danny had done, but neither of us had the guts to tell Sam about it. Everyone had heard about the fight, but Sam was in the dark (no pun intended) about the damage.

The damage Danny had caused.

Sam came back in and brought with her a giant bowl of delicious smelling popcorn. She sat back down next to Danny and offered him some. He didn't make a move to take any. So, naturally I stepped in and took some. Sam gave me a scowl and the commercials were over. Saved by the bell. We watched intently as Tiffany started talking again.

"I'm here with guest's Andrew Glock, a martial arts and battle tactics expert. And Maddie Fenton, who as we all know is one of Amity Park's resident Ghost hunters, as well as a leading expert on ghosts."

Danny looked up and Sam stopped mid-chew.

"Mom didn't say anything about being interviewed on the news…"

I snorted, "maybe that's because you were sleeping the morning away."

He gave me a glance, "would've been till noon if you guys hadn't shown up."

Sam silenced us with a buttery hand. Danny remembered his empty stomach and snatched some popcorn.

"So," Tiffany began, "before we go into detail, could you tell us your first impression of the fight?"

Andrew gestured to Mrs. Fenton to go ahead, "Well, I got my first impression while I was at home making cookies," we took note of the "cookies" part. "I heard a fairly loud booming noise, and immediately checked the "Fenton Amity Park Satellite," or 'F.A.P.S.' for the location and strength of what I first though, was a small earthquake."

"Amazing," Tiffany interrupted, as she clearly set up Mrs. Fenton up for something more ground breaking. "In a bottom line summary; what does the F.A.P.S. do?"

Mrs. Fenton smiled with pride, "F.A.P.S. is fairly new and it doesn't detect the mere presence of a ghost. It's actually a satellite and it can only sense a ghost when it is in active combat mode. From the F.A.P.S. we can get power levels, ghost type, attack type, and usually a ghost I.D," Ms. Fenton smiled softly, "The F.A.P.S. can also read earthquakes and storms so, we can see if changes in environment effect ghost activity."

"You think it's a threat?" Sam asked.

"Probably not," I answered.

"I'll ask Mom about it anyway," Danny said.

Tiffany continued, "Interesting. So Mr. Glock, what was your first reaction?"

"You can just call me Andrew, and I had just arrived in Amity Park for a conference I'm teaching and checked into my hotel, when I felt the vibrations. Like Mrs. Fenton, at first I also thought it was an earthquake. I couldn't see anything from my hotel room, but I was still scared for everyone's sake."

"How kind of you," Tiffany said, "Now with your help, we will thoroughly examine the battle scenes, and possibly determine just how good a fight these ghosts gave."

The entire screen switched to the inside of the mall during Shelly's interview. She was just finishing up with questions when the video stopped and Tiffany interrupted.

"A this point, the first sign of the ghost activity was recorded. You can see cameraman Mike, who noticed the blue mist and almost dropped the camera."

I could still swear his name was Mac.

The film way played and the audio was activated. "The station has decided to"-"EVERYONE!" Mac interrupted, "HIT THE DIRT!"

The image backed up and froze on a good shot Mac got of the blue mist.

"So, Mrs. Fenton. What can you tell of this blue mist that suddenly appears?"

"Obviously it's a teleportation technique. Fairly weak though, The F.A.P.S. didn't pick it up," she answered.

The video continued. Boy, was Mac a really brave cameraman or what? He caught Danny's and Ember's standoff clearly, then Ember struck a chord. It paused again.

"This," Ms. Fenton said, "was picked up by the F.A.P.S. This is what the F.A.P.S. I.D the ghost as…"

A F.A.P.S. log showed up on screen. Ms. Fenton read from it.

**Cause For Log: Ghost.**

**I.D: Ember McLain. #29**

**Status: Battle Active. Power Level: 4.3 **

**Weapon-s: Primary. Guitar. Secondary. Flaming hair.**

**Danger level: Mild. Confront-able.**

There was more, but Mrs. Fenton stopped there, so that must've been all we needed to know.

"We tell the F.A.P.S. the significant aspects of a ghosts' appearance and weapons. Ember is about average for a combat ghost. The encounter before this one read her at a "3.4" why she had such a huge boost in power is yet to be known. The F.A.P.S. will reset her power level the next time she comes around."

"Do you think," Tiffany asked, "that this ghost will become too powerful for even Phantom to handle?"

Mrs. Fenton openly scowled, "No. The F.A.P.S. shows that just before the ghost became inactive, her levels dropped back down to 3.4. It's quite a huge difference in power, regardless the F.A.P.S. will call her a 4.3 until further notice."

"How is that change in power possible?"

"Well," She hesitated a little, "My husband, Jack and I were up last night brainstorming. Jack seems to think that ghosts may have some kind of ectoplasm based version of adrenaline that gives them a boost in power when they need it most."

Danny openly laughed at that.

They moved o, to where Danny punched Ember through the stinking roof. I've got to say, that's my favorite part.

Tiffany asked Andrew to break down Danny's movements and he interpreted them a little.

"I think," he paused for comic effect, "that I surely wouldn't want to be the objective of Phantom's knuckles, that's for sure…" He got a few chuckles for that. "As for the punch itself, Phantom seems to prefer brute force and he's good at using it too." The punch was played again at half speed, "I can tell by the angle he used, that he _meant_ to punch her through the roof and into the sky. Phantom was quick to use his fists and his aim was completely perfect." He added as an afterthought, "If my students could punch a fraction that well at an angle like that, they wouldn't need me."

Danny brightened up a little bit. "What a compliment!" Tiffany said. "Now let's go onto the next portion of the fight."

Since Mrs. Fenton didn't have anything to say, they skipped to where Mac was on the roof filming the fight, and they watched through the comical part where Danny face-planted on his own shield.

Danny looked embarrassed, I laughed, and Sam shook her head.

"Ouch," Tiffany said, "I'll bet that hurt. What happened here Andrew?"

"The attack hit Phantom's shield lower then he could handle, and smack."

Ms. Fenton looked kind of irritated, "Phantom and Ember have fought many times before, and according to the F.A.P.S. the last five or six times Ember's battled in Amity, she's stayed at the same 3.4. He probably wasn't expecting her to be so much stronger."

Tiffany looked confused, "But don't ghosts have the ability to sense the strength of other ghosts?"

"We don't know that for sure, but Phantom has never proved himself to be very bright in the first place."

"Love you too, Mom," Danny said sarcastically

"Quiet Danny," Sam said. Boy was she cranky today.

They examined the fight up to the point at which, Danny was beaten to the ground.

Andrew commented, "Phantom doesn't seem to like fighting from a long distance. In fact, he's rather terrible at it. I'd say that his favorite attack would be punching, and those light beams would come second."

"Ecto-rays or Ghost-rays," Mrs. Fenton corrected.

"Thank you, and if I were you, Mrs. Fenton, I'd take my advice. If you have to fight Phantom, do so from as far away as possible. He's good at close and mid range combat. He avoids fighting any farther away then that. He also likes to battle in the sky, where he can maneuver easily and take advantage of his exceptional agility."

"Great," Danny said dripping with sarcasm, "thanks for selling me out dude, now when they come at me long range, I'll have you to thank."

They moved on again to the part Danny and I were anticipating.

"Now, it's difficult to see exactly what's going on in these next few parts, but we'll show you the some recent footage of the damage as well, and see if you can make anything out."

They showed Ember strike and Danny split him self into three different Phantom's. They paused on a fairly clear frame of them all together, which clearly showed Ember's attack and the three phantoms.

Tiffany spoke, "This is the second most groundbreaking part of the video since no one has ever witnessed this occurring. Much less video tape it. What is this Mrs. Fenton?"

The screen stayed on the frame as yellow lines (like the ones used during football games) were occasionally roughly drawn, and erased on screen.

"Starting with Ember." Ms. Fenton said, and Ember's destructive chord was circled on screen, "This is simply put, a compacted mass of ectoplasm that is roughly shaped like a fist, and expelled through the use of her guitar."

Ms. Fenton hesitated for a second, "As for Phantom." An arrow was drawn pointing at each clone, "You're right Ms. Snow. Never in the history of ghost hunters or researchers has this ever been documented. However, the theory of ghosts being able to create multiple forms has been passed around."

"Thankfully," she said, "The F.A.P.S. picked it up and changed its' I.D information on Phantom."

Again, one of the F.A.P.S.' logs was shown, and again Mrs. Fenton read the most important parts out loud.

**Cause For Log: Ghost.**

**I.D: Danny Phantom. #1 **(A/N The F.A.P.S. numbers ghosts according to the order in which, the F.A.P.S. first detects them.)

**Status: Battle Active. Power Level: 7.8**

**Weapon-s: Primary. Ecto-beam. Secondary. Hand-to-hand.**

**Danger level: Unapproachable. Highly dangerous.**

**Ghost: I.D: Danny Phantom. #1. Multiple signals detected under identical ectoplasmic signature. All signal power levels read at 7.8. **

Danny looked a little hurt at the "danger level" part, Sam gave him a comforting pat on the pack.

"Oh," Tiffany obviously wasn't expecting that either, "'Unapproachable' and 'highly dangerous?'"

"Yes Ms. Snow, but I didn't determine Phantom's danger level, the F.A.P.S. did, using the information it had on Phantom's power level and activity. Strange, but the F.A.P.S. changed Phantom to "Highly dangerous" after Phantom cloned himself."

"Phantom's power level is '7.8' correct?" Tiffany asked quietly.

"Yes, which towers over both Ember's highest peak at 4.3, and the amount my husband and I can handle. The Red Huntress stands the best chance against him in battle right now. Unfortunately, we have no way on contacting her."

"I see." Tiffany looked into the camera, "Don't touch that remote, we'll be back in a moment with the most intense part of the battle."

The commercials ran again...

Sam muted the TV, and turned to Danny, "7.8, you're seriously almost twice as powerful as Ember was and you still had a hard time fighting her?"

"She surprised me, alright?" Danny got up, "I'm going to go find those cookies."

He left the room and I took the opportunity to talk with Sam, "Why so angry Sam? Finally getting upset with how little he notices you?" I smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She snapped back.

Smirk gone, "You've been treating Danny like a little boy treats a little girl he likes." I waved my hands around acting out my joke, "I shall prove to her, once and for all, how great my love is for her! By throwing this rock at her head and sticking bubble-gum in her hair!"

Sam laughed and relaxed a little. "I'm Just a little out of it today I guess…"

"Well you better snap out of it. Danny needs your support more then mine, it means a lot to him," I leaned in and said quietly, "in fact, I think it means everything to him."

Sam gave me a weird look, and I finally noticed she wasn't wearing heavy makeup today.

"Danny and Sammy, kissing in a tree-" she slapped me before I could finish.

"Cut it out Tucker," She said sternly.

"Come on, Sam. What'd he do to make you mad? What? Don't you like a little eye-candy every now and again?"

Yes, this sounds an awful lot like girl talk, but Jazz said something to me like, "Tuck, you're the mediator between Sam and Danny. Sam doesn't come to me about anything because she sees me as a smaller and smarter version of her parents. It'll help them both if you can be there for them in the right ways."

Also, I can never pass up the chance to tease Sam about her massive crush.

"It's not that." She inclined her head, "last night, when Danny came over without a shirt on, he-"

"Hold. On. Danny did WHAT?"

"Tucker nothing happened. He just panicked about the reporters and came to my place in a hurry."

"Oh," I felt so dumb right then.

"Anyway, he looked alright, healthy. He was a little bruised, but my room wasn't lit very well…"

"And? This has to do with you being upset why?"

"Tucker. When Danny opened the door earlier. Did he seem odd to you?"

"Not really, Sam." Well wasn't going to say, _No Sam, I was too busy looking at your hilarious expression to notice Danny_. "If you mean he's changed, well what'd you expect? Heck, even I've gotten some pretty decent muscle on me since this whole ghost business began." Don't get me started on Sam. Ms. Teslaff wants Sam on any team she can get her on, and she even suggested training to try for the Olympics.

"Tucker," she said, "Danny's so skinny!" Her face looked pained and concerned, "and I mean _really _skinny. I could see practically every single one of his ribs! Yeah, sure, he's gotten a lot of muscle in a few short years, but." She let out a long sigh, "Tucker, it's not normal, even _dangerous_ for Danny. What if he gets knocked out for a few days, and no one can find him?"

"Then…then, his body will go for the first, and easiest source of protein it's got…"

"It'll start eating away at his muscles. His heart…"

Danny walked back into the room, and this time I looked at him closely. He did seem on the thin side.

"Found the cookies, there're all kinds here Sam." Danny offered her first pick like an ignored puppy, he even got the eyes down perfectly.

Sam reached for one, "Thanks Danny." She grabbed a large one just as the commercials ended. "Don't be afraid to help yourself, Danny."

"Yep. Because I've never been afraid to help myself!" I grabbed a fistful of cookies and got settled back in.

"Welcome back," Tiffany said, "we're here again with Andrew and Mrs. Fenton to examine the last minutes of the ghost fight between Danny Phantom, and Ember McLain."

Tiffany sat on the right, Andrew in the middle, and Mrs. Fenton on the left side of the table looking nervous about something.

Tiffany looked directly into the camera, "This is by far, the most literal and scientifically groundbreaking moment of the fight," She wore a serious look, "We'll have Mrs. Fenton explain in a moment."

Pictures flashed up on the screen that showed a massive circular hole formed completely through three or four walls.

"Theses photos were taken at the battle scene after the debris settled," It returned back to Mac's video, "And this," Tiffany said, "Is how it was caused."

They played it at half speed, Mac's camera must've shot more then the average frames per second.

Sam gave the TV her full attention, while Danny wouldn't even look at it.

Ember's attack was captured beautifully as the duplicated Phantoms flew away to help the petrified teens. Then it was Danny's move. You could _see_ his chest heave, and then he attacked.

My jaw dropped along with Sam's. I'd heard, and read about it, but I hadn't actually _seen_ it before.

You could clearly see Ember's attack get disintegrated, while Ember herself got knocked back by the invisible mass of powerful energy.

It was terrifying, and we hadn't even heard the audio yet.

Mac and his camera fell in just the right spot to see Shelly get blown back a few yards from where she originally stood. It paused there, and the film was replaced with the trio once again.

"Here is the camera's unaltered audio, recorded during the attack." Tiffany explained.

They played the video at normal speed. Ember's chord was strummed, and the sounds reverberated through the street, then…

_**BOOM!**_

The camera's audio recorder couldn't handle it well. Danny gave the TV an odd look.

Andrew look stunned, "Mrs. Fenton? Exactly what was that?"

Mrs. Fenton shifted nervously, "We aren't sure, since most ghost attacks are easy to see, but the F.A.P.S. recorded a change in phantom's Danger level, and added "Unapproachable" to his I.D after that."

Tiffany sat stiffly in her chair, "Why is this, Mrs. Fenton?"

She looked at a piece a paper she was holding, "Well, um, according to the F.A.P.S. Phantom's power level changed for a few seconds when he attacked."

"How much did it change?"

"Well…" She began, "The profile says that…that Phantom jumped from a 7.8, to a, um, 10.3."

It was a good thing we weren't near any stables. If we were, we would've been catching horseflies in our gaping mouths.

Sam grabbed a throw pillow off the couch, apparently no longer stunned. She hit Danny over the head with it, "You _idiot!"_

"I'm sorry!" He cried, "I didn't mean to make such a mess!"

I glanced at the TV, "Hey guys? Guys? GUYS?" They wouldn't stop, so I changed my tone of voice, "hey lovebirds."

"WE ARE NOT LOVEBIRDS!" They shouted together. I swear it works every single time.

"Guys, can this wait one minute?"

They didn't say anything, but Sam did stop trying to pin Danny down by his neck.

"Thank you." We watched the TV again.

"Thank you for being with us today," Tiffany said to her guests.

"It was a pleasure," Andrew said.

"I feel the same," Mrs. Fenton said calmly.

The camera focused of Tiffany, "On a side note, we'll be broadcasting Mayor Vlad Masters' town meeting to you live, in just a moment. Mayor Masters has called the town meeting in order to discuss the recent developments and chart a course of action."

She went on, "On a similar note, Phantom's ominous attack has officially been nicknamed by various citizens as Phantom's great "BOOM of DOOM."

Sam and Danny shouted, "WHAT?"

I didn't budge, "still beats Inviso-Bill."

* * *

><p>REVIEW, and tell me which name is more ridiculous (or lame?). "F.A.P.S." (Fenton Amity Park Satellite or "Boom of Doom"…or does Inviso-Bill still trump the competition?<p>

The F.A.P.S. was hinted at in "Chapter 5: In High Heels," by Amanda Hounds (The APGS Manger) who said,

"And, using Fenton equipment, we'll be able to spot ghost fights and warn the public about them."

I tend to write or say things that come in handy later, intentionally or not. This was a really lucky case.

If you were curious, the idea for the "thromm" was based on an old movie staring Don Knotts called "The Incredible Mr. Limpet." It's an odd but fun movie. When I was little I was completely fascinated by the ability to make a sound like that, even though "thromm" doesn't describe the sound in the movie exactly.

See you Sunday!


	9. The Enemy Alarm

Well here we go! Thank you for reading!

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: The Enemy Alarm.<p>

(Jazz Fenton's POV.)

The library: a place of silence, tranquility, study, and whose phone is going off?

I jerked my head up and looked around with a scowl that could scare even Plasmius. No one disturbs my precious study time, and- whoops, it was my phone going off.

I pulled a sparkly pink cell-phone out of my handbag and read the caller ID. I answered it and asked quietly, "What is it Swan? I'm studying."

"Jazz! You'll, like, totally never guess what I'm watching!"

I slammed my palm into my face, "For starters Swan, do I even want to know?"

"Um, yeah. You'll, like, even want to know."

"Alright then, hit me with it."

"Okay, your Mom right? She's totally on the news!"

My brow furrowed, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Your Mom's name is Maddie right?"

I pinned my phone to my ear and gathered up my books, "Yes, that's her. Which station is she on?"

"The news station."

Typical answer, "Who's the anchor Swan?

"I think it's that Tiffany girl. She's got pretty hair."

"That'd be channel four, I wonder if Danny's watching this?"

"Your brother? He's cute."

I nearly dropped my phone, "Not you too, Swan!"

"It can't be helped Jazz; but you just might want to give that Goth girl a warning."

I grinned and exited the library. Last summer, Danny, and _Dani_ spent their summer in the Ghost Zone training together. We didn't see much of them, but afterwards, Danny came back to school almost three inches taller. He also didn't fit very well into his old cloths, and couldn't hide his height or build anymore.

I'd been told (by girls I did, and didn't know) that if the expression "tall, dark, and handsome" had a name. It'd be Danny Fenton.

"I'll make a note of that Swan." I climbed into my convertible and started up the engine, "Thanks for calling me. I need to hang up now, I'm driving."

"K, see ya later!"

"I'll see you later, too," I started up the engine.

On my way home I listened to a radio broadcast of Tiffany's questions, and Mom's answers. Well, at least the ones that made sense over the radio.

Mom told me about the F.A.P.S. weeks ago, so I was only surprised with what it had to say about my baby brother. I mea,; I knew Danny was powerful, but "Highly dangerous?" well, maybe The F.A.P.S. thinks so. After all, robots can only calculate the stats, not the truth.

I pulled up to the house as I listened to Tiffany Snow, on her live broadcast, (which was also being aired on TV) "On a similar note, Phantom's ominous attack has officially been nicknamed by various citizens as Phantom's great, "BOOM of DOOM."

WORST park job in the history of my life, I could hardly steer I was laughing so hard.

Inviso-Bill, meet your match.

I started for the house, carefully made sure not to drop my books or burst out laughing again. The door was unlocked, thankfully, so Danny must've gotten out of bed already. I entered the house and placed my backpack by the door, then turned to the living room.

Danny and Tucker were staring each other down, each in a slightly aggravated stance. I choose to quietly sneak into the living room to ask Sam what'd happened.

I doubted she'd help instantly; she looked extremely irritated and slightly bored.

They didn't seem to notice me, so I nearly jumped out of my skin when Danny and Tucker shouted.

"BOOM of DOOM!"

"INVISO-BILL!"

I nearly fell over. The boys still glared at each other.

Tucker started, "Inviso-Bill is WAY lamer then Boom of Doom! For Pet's sake! Boom of Doom sounds like something from a cheep-old, video game!"

"Yeah," Danny said, "Well BOOM of DOOM is SO much worse! At least with Inviso-bill they had the general idea!"

Meanwhile, I turned to Sam, "Are they seriously having this argument?"

"Yep."

"You think they'll stop anytime soon?"

"Nope."

I sighed and watched Sam, as she watched the boys. A change came across her face, and I briefly wondered what her twisted sense of humor would cook up for this situation.

Change gone, she spoke, "Hey lovebirds."

I couldn't believe it; but Tucker and Danny turned to her, "WE ARE NOT LOVEBIRDS!"

Sam and I fell to the floor laughing, Tucker and Danny turned red.

Between wails of laughter I tried to speak, "Did you guys seriously-ha ha fall for that?"

The boys sputtered and tripped over their own words, and talked incoherently.

Tucker tried to change the subject, "So, um, why don't we just watch the news or something?"

"Yeah," Sam said, "and try to forget what nimrods you two are."

"Citizens of Amity Park," someone said.

Tucker, and Sam instantly turned towards the TV. Danny did the same and charged an ecto-blast.

Note to self: even the sound of Vlad's voice alone makes them tick and act defensively.

The four of us relaxed a bit when we realized that no, the TV wasn't going to kill us. Tucker absentmindedly turned the volume up.

Vlad gave the regular, formal greetings, and introduced a few other people standing on stage with him. He spoke from behind a podium in city hall, as he talked into half a dozen microphones, "Today, as you all know, we are gathered to speak openly regarding the terrible damage inflicted onto our Amity Park mall."

He went on, "Damage almost solely caused by town "hero" Danny Phantom." He leaned into the microphones, "I trust that you have all heard plenty talk about the damages."

A screen lit up on the wall behind Vlad that showed a slide-show of the mall before and after that fight, "These damages can no longer go unnoticed as the ghosts continue to grow in power. So now, I turn your attention to GIW investigator, Agent C."

Vlad stepped down from the podium and briefly shook hand with Agent C. Then A.C. stepped up to the microphone himself.

What can I tell you about his appearance? Standard uniform, graying brown hair, buzz cut, and that's about it.

"Thank you, Mayor Masters." A.C. (Agent C) faced the gathering with a stern expression, "I will spare the usual pleasantries; there are urgent matters to attend to. In recent times before the battle at the mall, the GIW considered Phantom to be an objective. But now, he has proven himself to be a priority of the most dangerous degree."

I could feel a dangerous glare come through his sunglasses and the TV all at once. Danny tensed on instinct.

"Following the GIW regulations regarding Phantom's power, and the rate at which, his power grows. Coupled with the immense damage Phantom has caused. Makes him highly dangerous, and therefore."

"He must be destroyed."

* * *

><p>Yes, another G.I.W.'s out for Danny story; but I promise you, this will be unlike any other *Snicker.*<p>

YES, Swan. The older, and not much smarter sister of! QUAN! KWAN! Or however his name is spelled! I had NO name ideas, and Jazz's friends never show up in the show, don't flame me too hard!

My entire weeks been tossed around, so I didn't get as much in as I'd hoped, but since A.C. came around while writing this chapter, the story will go much smother.

A.C. = Agent C. In the same way, Agents O, and K have been declared, A.O. and A.K. When combined, the resulting team (that will appear later) is called T.O.C.K. (Team. O. C. K.) Crazy I know.

And now, I'm off the bathe the cat! Joy…

See you Sunday!


	10. Everyone Gets A Word In

**NOTICE: keep an eye out for the POV changes, I use narrative, and various character POV's.** I figured you'd like one big chapter with lots of POV's then more then half a dozen over six or more weeks. I'm trying to keep the story at a fast pace.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Enemy Alliances.<p>

Team Phantom watched the TV intensely.

"He must be destroyed," Agent C said from city hall.

"Bring it on, White-coat," I heard Danny say.

"Well if he wants a war," Tucker began, "It'll be a pleasure to deliver."

Without further comment, they continued to watch the TV…

* * *

><p>(POV CHANGE: Take a wild guess)<p>

I'd heard the crowd murmur amongst them selves from my seat off stage. That was fine, more drama meant more attention, and more attention meant more pressure on young Daniel. (A/N guess yet?)

To be honest, I was nervous when I'd first heard of Daniels' attack. Though I was in the ghost zone at the time, I could feel something happen. The noise of the attack was fortunately confined to the city, and yet still. One day later, the entire world was echoing it again, and again.

Amity Park had gone from one of the nations most well known haunted towns, to the world's most famous paranormal hot spot.

And there was still the matter of Daniel's new ability. This new power of his, the pathetic name of which I refuse to speak, was somehow stemming for his ghostly wail, I was certain. Simply put; the difference is like the difference between an ectoplasmic ray, and an ectoplasmic sphere. Both are created using the same energy, however the technique used to create them and the type of damage they cause differs.

Finally, the GIW had noticed Daniels potential. Agent C had quite the impressive track record. Though he lacked experience in combat, when under his watchful eye even the G.I.W. lackeys showed the potential to be a small threat.

He was quite the speaker as well. His emotionless appearance mingled well with his ability to play with fear.

I had to say I was quite enjoying myself…

"This may come harshly to some of you," Agent C began, "Two ghosts have shown an incredible ability to gain power as they see fit. As ghost expert Mrs. Maddie Fenton has observed during the battle at the mall, Phantom grew in power in response to the opponent he faced, and he did so very suddenly."

Agent C stood tall, "Phantom has shown the true power of a ghost, and is currently the most powerful ghost in the human world." Agent C seemed to grow frustrated, "Then add to that, the fact that he is an almost constant presence in Amity Park. No ghost of his caliber has been detected on earth for more then a few days. The only instance documented was when Amity herself was transported into the Ghost Zone. While in that state; many powerful entities were detected. Phantom being on the lower end of that scale."

Agent C placed his hands firmly on the podium, "The most powerful ghosts in history have remained in the Ghost Zone almost continuously in all of G.I.W. history. If Phantom doesn't join them for eternity, we will eliminate him for good."

His statements closed, Agent C headed back to his assigned seat on my left. I of course stood up to replace him on stage.

We shook hands briefly as considered polite when speakers change. "Well played, my friend," I said.

"Thank you Mr. Mayor Masters, but save your praises for Phantoms downfall."

I nodded, "I shall."

I gathered my bearings on stage, then spoke, "Once again, I thank you all for coming. We will now take a small session for lunch and arrive here again in half an hour to take questions. I ask that you hold all questions related to ghostly matters until the half hour is past."

As I briskly left the stage, the cameras flashed brightly from the crowd. Agent C stood up and waited respectfully for me, "Well then," I said pleasantly, "A fine meal has been prepared for all gathered G.I.W. agents and reporters. I hope you find it suitable."

"I'm sure I will Mr. Mayor Masters," he affirmed, "If you wouldn't mind showing me the way to lunch, I'll gladly satisfy my hunger."

"I will, I'm hungry for lunch as well," I nodded towards an exit and led him through the hall towards the cafeteria. "Agent C, you don't have to use formalities when speaking to me. I always preferred being called 'Vlad' more then some of my other titles."

"Understood," he spoke in a casual tone, "When I joined the G.I.W. it took me a long time to get used to titles. I adjusted as I grew in the ranks and I'd give you my real name if not for regulations." We rounded a corner and noticed two G.I.W. agents stood guard at the lunchroom entrance, "I'm sure you have many titles as well Vlad, being a business owner and a political leader. Boss, Mayor and the like."

We entered the cafeteria. I must admit I was frantically attempting to silence one of my titles which was echoing in my head. _Fruitloop, FRUITLOOP, Fruitloop._

We sat down and waited for our food to arrive, "I hope this doesn't intrude, but is Phantom really the most powerful ghost in the world?"

Agent C leaned into his chair, "That was mostly for dramatic purposes; but still, yes. Phantom is the most powerful ghost that is frequently detected in Amity. Occasionally powerful entities will come around for a few hours or so, but Phantom usually battles them soon after they arrive."

"I see," If Daniel was stronger then me after so little time… "If you don't mind my asking; what ghosts arrive that can compete with Phantom's power?"

"Very few," he spoke seriously. "Two of the most powerful ghosts; one that controls plant life and the other weather, are now lightweights compared to him."

Undergrowth and Vortex, I recalled. I raised an eyebrow, I never stood a chance against either of those ghosts, "How powerful were those ghosts by your measurements?"

"The plant controlling ghost was only a 5.8 and no more, Phantom was in the low 6 area. We figure it wasn't the plant ghost's strength that made him hard to beat; but his invulnerability. Our equipment ran on its' backup generators, but we still don't know for sure how Phantom managed to take him out." He tightened his fists, "Phantom fought at a much higher power level after that."

That didn't sound good, "And what of the weather controlling ghost?"

Our lunch arrived and was placed in front of us. Agent C appeared to look up at me, "That ghost was powerful to begin with. Around the mid seven area, stronger then Phantom was at the time. And then…"

I was feeling my patience strained, "Then what?"

He adjusted his sunglasses, "Then Phantom jumped in power again. From 6.4 to 7.9, then he just dropped back down to normal levels after that. That event was also the first time we clearly detected a duplication." (A/N this power jump/drop happened when Danny had/lost his weather powers.)

I was surprised he called duplication for what it is, "And how did it read?"

"Clearly, Phantom was a 6.4 at the time. The three other apparitions that appeared in the same spot, under the same signature, were a fairly weak 2.9. This recent time however, they seemed to be clones, since they all held the same power level." He harshly stabbed at his steak, "Even when Phantom made a jump in power, the clones jumped with him. All the way up to 10.3."

I paused, "Are you certain of this?"

"More then anything in my life, Vlad."

We finished lunch in complete silence before we headed out to take questions. On our way, we passed by some various people and-"Maddie! How wonderful of you to make it."

"I'm here to answer questions Vlad. You asked me to come," she replied.

Agent C lagged behind Maddie and I, as we entered back into the sea of reporters.

"Yes, but with all the attention you've been getting, I was worried you'd forgotten about me."

She refused to look me in the eye, "Trust me Vlad," she sounded _slightly _irritated, "you're absolutely unforgettable."

"I see." Time to change the subject, "Well then, how is Jack taking to the new events?"

Maddie perked up a bit, "The same way he takes all other ghostly events."

I'd bet that the fool went running around breaking things to no success in the least.

Maddie sat down in her assigned chair as I walked up to the center podium. Sometime during the break, two more podiums had been placed on stage.

"Thank you for your patience," I began. "Now here to answer questions are Agent C, from the G.I.W. And Madeline, Amity's own resident ghost expert. I will be answering questions as well as Mayor."

I stepped back and let those mentioned take their place behind their podiums. It was time to watch and wait for everyone's reactions and plan my next move…

* * *

><p>(Meanwhile…POV of Jazz Fenton)<p>

We ignored the TV since there wasn't anything important on anyway. I was going to watch the interviews, but the rest of the team had seen more then enough.

"So, what now?" Tucker asked.

"I say," Sam started, "we hack into the F.A.P.S. and see what else it knows."

"By "we" you mean "Tucker" right?"

"Obviously, it's not like Danny or I can pull it off. Right Danny? Danny?"

I froze, "Danny?"

We all dove for our phones simultaneously, each trying to track Danny by G.P.S.

Well they did, I just sent a text. I got a reply shortly after…

**Danny: IF you don't mind. Leaf me alone.**

"Guys! I got a text from Danny," they snatched my phone form me, read the text, and briefly shared a look.

"So," I asked impatiently.

"He's fine," Sam said simply.

"I think I'll need a little more then that Sam."

She pointed to my phone, "Danny capitalized "IF" at the beginning. It means, "I'm fine" The rest of the sentence is ignored, so Danny really meant, "I'm fine, leave me alone."

"You guys have your own coded language? Cool! What did Danny mean by "Leaf?"

Tucker snorted, "It means Danny's autocorrect is active on his phone."

"Oh."

Sam snickered, "Come on Tuck; lets see what we can learn from the F.A.P.S. Jazz, why don't you stay here and watch the news?"

I nodded, anxious to help any way I could, "I'll notify you if anything important is said."

"Right you do that," She said and followed Tucker into the lab.

* * *

><p>(Soaring through the skies above Amity Park…)<p>

_What a jerk! Where does that guy get off talking like that?_

I flew through the skies in a black blur, barely visible to the sky gazers on the ground. Flying around has always been my second favorite form of stress relief. Probably because flying uses enough energy to help me calm down, without tiring me out.

So far, it wasn't working that well.

I ranted in my head and didn't dare lady luck to let someone hear me. Noticing an obscure hill in Jackson Park (a few years ago, someone finally named the park after one of Amity Parks founders, instead of calling it "Amity Park, Park.")

I landed on a small branch high in the tress, thankful for the almost weightlessness of my ghost form.

"Finally, some peace and quiet. Oh, who the heck am I trying to kid?"

I took of again at a mild speed. Somehow, the winds I sailed on drifted me back into mall town. Exactly what I needed, an environmental reminder of my massive mess up. Oh well, I kept on flying around anyway.

You might think that the entire place would be a ghost town, or maybe full of reporters. Nope. Not in Amity, we're used to ghost destroying things, and we won't let that stop our Saturday shopping.

I floated invisibly in midair and tried to decide if I should keep flying around, or just go home and crawl back into bed.

My answer came in the form of my ghost sense. It didn't feel like the ghost was too close, so I started slipping into the essence of my ghost sense to find it.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!"

And I was humiliated. Apparently he was floating right behind me and had no problem being loud about it.

Surprised, I fell out of the air, turned visible, and landed _face first _into the plain view of dozens of people with camera phones. They noticed me, they noticed him, and they weren't afraid to stick around.

Seams that no matter how much they could've feared me, when the Box Ghost was involved…They just didn't feel the needed to do anything but laugh at my misfortune.

I did faintly hear a few people speak along the lines of, "it's just the Caterer/shoe salesmen Ghost, so Phantom won't use the Boom of Doom right?"

I hoisted myself off of my butt, "Boxy, do you have any idea how bad your timing is?"

"DO NOT MISTAKE YOURSELF! For it is YOU who is UNLUCKY! For I, THE BOX GHOST, have easily taken you for surprise! BEWARE!"

In the street, I hoisted myself off my butt and stood tall. I glanced at the people around me, knowing that faster then the speed of 4G, this would be on Youtube.

Saying hello to my _first _favorite form of stress relief, I leaped into the air. Okay I exaggerate; the Box Ghost is pathetically easy to beat but impossible to discourage. That's what makes him my favorite punching bag.

I noticed a crowd gathering below us, camera-phones recording. Since they took the trouble, I gave them a show.

Simple fight: a few punches, and a flashy trick with the Fenton Thermos, and bye-bye Boxy! I even got a few cheers from the onlookers. It felt kind of nice. I waved to the crowd before the cheering died down, and smiled at the onlookers. Then I flew off to find an obscure place to transform back into Fenton. A small alley took my attention. I glided into it and transformed behind a dumpster, and double-checked to dull the flash of the ghostly rings that engulfed me.

No one noticed as I left the alley and joined the walking crowds. Fenton was just an average teenager and there were kids about my age everywhere. I decided to brake away from everyone and sit down on a bench. I leaned back and tried to clear my head and review the past few days, while trying not to get upset.

I was glad when Jazz sent me a text but didn't bother me further. Sam and Tucker must've convinced her that I really need some alone time. Not that I was really alone in mall town anyway.

My thoughts eventually got back up to Boxy, I replayed the fight in my head to see if I could recall anything I could improve on. Then came the damage…I paused in my thought process. There hadn't BEEN any damage.

I sat up straight: I didn't crack the street when I landed, I didn't accidentally hit anything with an ecto-blast, I didn't punch through any walls, and I didn't give the Box Ghost a chance to destroy and merchandise.

I'd just had a damage free fight. I chanted it again in my head; I'd just had a damage free fight!

I was so excited I hardly remembered that I was up against the Box Ghost, but it was a start! I thought that maybe my luck had changed, so I stood up and marched straight for the mall. If the news stations thought they could get me down with pictures, then they'd thought wrong.

Then again, this would be where I passed an empt lot, tripped over my other left foot, and crashed into thorny, prickly, bushes, and muddy wet ground...

* * *

><p>(Guess who again.)<p>

Of the three podiums from the reporters' point of view, Maddie was on the right. She represented the data collected and would answer questions related to that knowledge.

Agent C, was placed respectfully behind the middle podium. He represented the GIW, and would answer questions accordingly.

I of course, represented Amity, and would assure the public of their safety and the little need for unease.

Unfortunately, that all fell apart when agents K and O ran on stage (and well within range of the microphones) and shouted something about how Phantom's signal had been detected at the mall again.

I most likely don't need to tell you, but instantly, every single reporter started scrambling for all there worth towards the exit. Agent C, abandoned the stage and left as well, along with agents K, and O.

Maddie took off soon after the general amount of people had left.

So there I was standing on the stage solo, in an abandoned room that still had garbage and leftover belongings scattered amongst the many chairs.

"Daniel," I said to the empty room, "someday I'll get you back for all the trouble, and embarrassment you've caused me as mayor."

* * *

><p>(Narrator.)<p>

The three agents strapped on their jetpacks and headed in a straight line for the mall.

"What's the Ghost Punk up to this time?"

Agent O adjusted his headset, "It's not Phantom himself. It's Skulker."

"Do you mean to tell me, Agent O, that you called me away form a press conference for SKULKER?"

Agent O drifted away from Agent C. Agent K intervened, "With all do respect sir, Phantom shows up the confront the ghost Skulker when ever Skulker become active In combat mode." All three agent adjusted their trajectory, "Phantom confronts this ghost 100% of the time, without fail. It's only logical that Phantom will attack this ghost."

Agent C emitted an aura of frustration, "Fine then, full speed ahead."

* * *

><p>(Danny Fenton POV)<p>

I could tell you how no one ever came to help me out of the bushes. I could tell you about how in my anger, I forgot completely about a little thing called _ghost powers._ I could repeat the first chapter all over again. I could tell you about Skulker's sneak attack as I was minding my own miserable business. But I won't.

What I will tell you, is that it is 1 A.M, and this, is where the author leaves you hanging.

See you next week.

* * *

><p>Author Speaking!<p>

It is as Danny said.

See you next Sunday!

Quick note: about humans and even Plasmius not being able to handle ghosts like Undergrowth and Vortex when "The Masters Blasters" technically 'defeated' those ghosts and more. I think Vlad just made a deal with the ghosts like he did with The Freight Knight, or Skulker. Vlad admitted he couldn't beat strong ghosts when he ditched Danny to face Vortex alone, he didn't show up to fight Undergrowth, and he fell a helpless victim to Nocturne. Clearly, our Fruitloop isn't as all powerful as he'd like Danny to believe.

Besides, this story is AU, so those annoying kids never show up to begin with. A very fine reason to write FanFiction if you ask me. You can forget about the annoying people. :D

REVIEW! And tell me if you not completely confused yet!


	11. A Helping Hand

Thank you, **SailorSea Oak Leaf Ninja **and **supaherolena02**

This one's for you three! Thanks for your encouraging words. :)

I don't own DP, or Whinny-the-pooh. Now that you're confused, lets read.

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: A Helping Hand.<p>

(POV of Danny Fenton.)

No one helped me out of the bushes and I forgot about intangibility. So naturally, I was still completely filthy. I mumbled to myself about my clothes, which were completely destroyed. My waterproof, abuse-resistant wallet (A 15th birthday present from Jazz) was thankfully still intact. If the fifty bucks Mom gave me for school clothes went down in mud because of my ego, I'd never hear the end of it.

I continued on my way and tried to ignore the strange looks from everyone around me. As I did this, I heard a beeping noise and paused.

As you know, I dodged just as the tracking missile whizzed past me and obliterated the mall's glass doors. People began screaming and running around frantically. When the shards of glass settled down, I jumped up and thus, made my first mistake. I tried to see if anyone was hurt.

Confused and distracted. I didn't hear the sound of jets until Skulker landed a fist in my back. I cried out in surprise and crashed into the ground, rolled over reflexively a few times, before I bounced back onto my feet-

Just in time for Skulker to land another punch in my gut. This time, I corkscrewed mid-air and landed on my feet and inside the mall. I shook out the glass shards in my hair.

Skulker charged at me again, "I've got you now whelp!"

I rolled my eyes and side-flipped away from his attack, "Not last million times, and not this time either Skulker!" I ran further into the mall and tried to find a place to go ghost. Skulker was on my tail the entire time punching, shooting, and hitting everything but me along the way.

The chase continued where people were doing their shopping. Obviously everyone knew the fight was dangerous, so they scrambled to run and hide, or stare at the situation in horror. This made it more difficult, but I finally managed to dart into a store and dive into rack of cloths to transform.

Phantom-me dove out an instant before Skulker turned my shelter into ash. Invisibly, I returned a well-deserved punch hard enough to send him packing. Call me a brute, but it helped me on the inside.

I flew after him and restrained myself only to direct contact hits. We dog-fought up and down the mall way, which left bystanders nowhere to go but inside the various stores.

I easily out-maneuvered Skulker's bulky frame. Grabbing his left-arm with my right hand, I flew underneath him and twisted his arm across his chest. I continued the movement, and flipped completely over him, which spun him over in a half circle. I planted my feet firmly on the ground before Skulker could react. I rotated and using my arm as a slingshot, I sent him flying out of the mall at a ninety-degree angle.

I stood tall and readied my thermos when…

* * *

><p>(POV change: Narrator.)<p>

The mall came within sight of the three G.I.W. agents.

"Sir, news," Agent K stated.

"Out with it K," Replied Agent C.

"Yes sir. Word from base, Phantom has just entered combat mode and has made contact with the ghost called Skulker."

Agent O, gathered the bravery to speak, "Shall we speed up sir? Phantom fights don't last very long."

"No, Agents. Don't you know anything about Phantom? He's all too accustomed to G.I.W. intervention. He'll scatter at the slightest sign of an agent. We must have the element of surprise."

The two lesser agents looked at each other, "That's a pretty good idea," agent O said, "Why didn't we think of that?"

* * *

><p>(POV change: Danny Phantom.)<p>

So far, I'd been a pretty good fight. I hardly had a scratch on me, and the mall wasn't too bad all things considered. I checked my Fenton-Thermos and crouched to take off after Skulker. Not the best time to get shot in the back.

I shouted in pain. My first impulse was to fly off and turn human as soon as possible. I thought it was Val, I _hoped_ it was Val. Oh, when was the last time Lady Luck ever paid me a visit?

"Freeze Ghost Punk!" Two nimrods shouted at me.

I flipped around and eyed their readied guns wearily. "Okay, I highly doubt that one of you guys just shot me."

"Your doubts are correct," a new voice said.

Well new to me in battle. "Oh, the new guy," I said, ad tried to figure out how an ecto-gun the size of a _pistol_ could hurt so much. My thoughts flashed back to Val and how much she could make a small (and otherwise not powerful weapon) hurt badly.

"Don't judge me Phantom, I have many more of years experience at this then you do."

"Ha!" I mocked. "You remind me of a ghost I've fought and beaten a hundred times over." On the outside, I was strong. On the inside I was thinking, _Vlad is going to kill me for that_.

I crouched, "Here's some wisdom you won't find in your rules or regulations, oh great pencil-pusher." I paused, but he didn't make a move to attack me. "You're in Amity Park, hunting ghosts straight out of the lawless realms; experience won't save your hide." I kept a strong jaw, and hoped that all those western movies I'd watched at Sam's would pay off...

He seemed unaffected, "Phantom. I'm giving you one chance, and one chance only. Surrender yourself immediately to the G.I.W. and face up to the crimes you've committed against humanity."

I arched an eyebrow, "Wait, "against humanity?" I haven't even set foot out of Amity Park." Not as Phantom and not in this timeline, at least.

"Phantom," Agent C was losing is patience. Agent O steadily hovered to his right, still pointing his Ecto-Stopo-Power-of-Fire thingy at me.

I focused on listening when I noticed A.O. whispering to A.C.

"-_You doing? He's a mindless ghost."_

A.C. didn't look pleased at the distraction, _"I know, so we must fool him. We can't handle him alone, he's too strong."_

I stifled a giggle at their major blunder, Agent K looked at me like I was insane.

Finally, I calmed down. As a smile played on my face I said, "You know." I changed to a blatant tone, "I have ears like a hawk."

A.O. gasped, and A.C. reacted instantly by shooting at me. Thankfully, he rushed his aim too much and gave off enough signals to warn me.

Agents K, and O still hovered in the air. I stayed on the ground, dodging expertly and attacking lazily.

"O, K, give it all you've got! He's not going down without a fight anymore!" A.C. urged.

"Anymore?" I said between dodges, "Wait, this is a fight? Hadn't noticed."

I could feel his temper boil over. "Watch what you say punk!" He shot me with the pistol again and sent me flying ten feet back into a wall.

Upon impact, I bounced off and landed in a perfect stance. This guy was nothing, and neither was any G.I.W. agent for that matter. They're like Pariah Dark's thralls. The power is not what gets you, it's the numbers…

A.K. blasted the spot where I'd just been standing.

"Don't loose sight of him! He'll be impossible to detect when he stops fighting!"

A.C. fired a few shots with decent accuracy; I stumbled a bit but never lost balance.

"POPP's away!"

I looked up incredulously, "Huh?"

All three agents assembled a line in half a second.

"FIRE!" Agent C shouted. They all shot and hit my chest dead on. Using my DP logo as a bulls-eye.

I didn't take it well… I would've screamed if my chest didn't sting so much. My eyes shut tight as the impact knocked me off my feet. After I remained airborne for a few seconds, I crashed into something that gave way. I heard screams all around me and only barely managed to open my eyes.

People were scattered everywhere as they tried to pick themselves up from underneath the racks of clothing that I'd toppled over. The bright lights in the store lit the area in a lifeless way, and made the damage seem worse…

Footsteps came my way, the three agents rushed into the store scanning the place with angry expressions.

A.O. yanked out his communicator, "This is Agent O. We've encountered the ghost kid down at the mall but we've lost visual." He paused, "What do you mean his signal's gone?"

A.C. holstered his gun, "Don't bother, O. Phantom always disappears like this. He's probably just too coward to show his face."

_Coward,_ I thought,_ I'd like to see you take on a ghost who actually _wants_ to hurt you._

A.C. started walking towards me, "In the meantime, let's help these people and call in some medical help."

The two lesser Agents looked at each other.

"That's a good idea," A.O. said.

"Yeah," A.K. said, "Why haven't we ever thought of that?"

A.C. walked calmly towards me and put out his hand.

"You okay kid?" A.C. asked. "You don't look so good."

I didn't recall turning human. I glanced around nervously at the security cameras in the store. "I feel good enough," I lied through my teeth, my chest was killing me. I shut my eyes and cringed hard.

"Hold on kid, don't push yourself. We'll have an ambulance here in a minute." A.C. crouched at my right side and wrapped my arm over his shoulders. He stood up and pulled me to my feet with him.

Leaning off of him hastily, I glanced at the massive spider web of hangers and clothes still attached to me, "I can handle myself now, thanks. You should help everyone else, I can manage this." I tugged the hood of a sweatshirt blocking my view of him, so I could see his face. I was covered in tangled garments from pretty much head to toe.

He huffed, "You're a tuff kid. I'd rather work with a kid like you then those two nimrods." He said, and inclined his head to A.O. and A.K. who were trying (and failing) to help in the situation.

"Thank you, sir." Just because Phantom could get away with mouthing off to A.C. didn't mean Fenton could, too.

A.C. didn't say anything further, he just nodded slightly and walked away to help someone else.

Turning my back to him, I pulled myself away from the hangers as the hooded-jacket still stayed stubbornly to me. No one paid attention, so I took the time to enjoy the pain of a massive ecto gunshot.

Adrenaline had stopped running rampant in my body, taking with it my tolerance for pain. I tried to peel the jacket off, with my eyes shut tight underneath the hood. I heard A.C. say something from far behind me…

I fumbled and closed the jacket immediately. His voice reminded me that Fenton wasn't shot. Fenton was a victim of circumstance, not a wounded warrior. I remembered the state of my clothes before I fought Skulker. They were torn quite a bit and beyond repair. If anyone got a look at my injury, I'd be hospitalized. Or worse, the Agents might just put half and half together.

I put the jacked on and zipped it up, I'd pay for it with the money Mom gave me after I helped out as much as I could…

…

The ambulance drove off with the only person who needed serious treatment. I was still behind, helping the last few stragglers get the help they needed. I moved in on a group of firefighters and paramedics. I'd found a little boy, no older then four, who'd lost his Mommy and skinned his leg a little. He was still sobbing on my shoulder.

"Don't cry," I set him down on a bench. "It's okay, we're going to find your Mommy, alright?"

He jerked his head up and down in a 'okay' motion, but he refused to look at me. Still sobbing, he said, "O-otay."

I smiled, "Can you tell me your name?" I squatted to his level.

"Um, my Mommy told me not to speak to strangers." He looked at me with large brown eyes, which got very wide with surprise.

"Then can you tell me, what's your Mommy's name?" I asked.

He gave me a confused look, "Mommy's name is Mommy."

I laughed, "Alright then…" I went over to a table and grabbed bandages and disinfectant.

Agent C came by, "Who's the kiddo, kid?"

I deciphered just what it was he was trying to ask me. "Haven't figured it out yet," I said calmly. "He's still scare, and he can't give me any names." I knelled down, A.C. looked away.

"I heard some ruckus a few minutes ago. Some woman. Did he come here with his Mother?"

I nodded, "He's been asking for her."

"I'll see what I can do." With that, he walked away.

I turned back to the boy. "Okay, now I'm going to have to put a band-aid on. This might sting a little…" I wiped his knee off with the disinfectant I borrowed. I watched his face carefully, he seemed to be toughening it out pretty well.

Without looking, I reached for the band-aid.

"Hey kid," a firefighter said.

I put the band-aid down, "Me or him?"

"You," he said and took the first-aid kit from me. "Leave this to the pros, kid. I'll take care of him."

"Alright, alright." I got out of his way. Apparently there was no fire for him to put out so he was set to do first-aid.

The fireman kneeled down, "I'm going to put a band-aid on your boo-boo now, okay?"

The kid gave the band-aids a sharp, disgusted look, "I want Whinny-the-Pooh!"

Man, you should've seen the baffled look on the firefighters' face!

"I want Whinny-the-Pooh!" The kid repeated.

"Um," the firefighter stuttered, "A Whinny-the-Pooh? I'm sorry kid but I don't know where to find your toy-"

"No toy," he said defiantly, "I want Whinny-the-Pooh!" He pointed to the band-aid, "There's no Whinny-the-Pooh!"

I held back a laugh, the fireman glared at me.

"I'm sorry buddy," he started, "but I don't have any Whinny-the-Pooh bandages."

The kid crossed his arms. "I want Whinny-the-Pooh!"

The one-sided argument continued. A.C. walked up behind me, a woman was with him.

"Andy!"

Andy turned to his Mother. "Mommy!"

Mother and Son hugged, Andy's Mother showered him with kisses.

"Oh baby, I was so worried about you! Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"No, no, no Mommy! I'm fine now."

Andy's Mother turned to A.C. "Thank you, so much, for taking care of my baby."

A.C. inclined his head, "Your welcome, but this young man is the one who found him."

I blushed, "It was no problem, really."

Andy and his Mother, Jessica, were looked over and allowed to leave. Rest assured that Andy would get his Whinny-the-Pooh bandages when they got home. Before thy left, they gave a final goodbye.

"Thank you again." Jessica said.

"No problem ma'am," A.C. said.

Jessica thanked me again, and cradled Andy preciously. She carried him to the exit.

Andy looked up and waved, "Bye-bye, Danny!"

I waved back, not quite sure how he knew my name, "Bye-bye Andy! You take care!"

A.C. chuckled, "Danny, is it?"

I gulped, "Yeah?"

He shrugged, "This city is just filled to the brim with "Danny's" isn't it?"

I laughed awkwardly, not to keen with being near a G.I.W. agent. "Say, weren't you with two other guys?"

He huffed, "I had to put those idiots on a time out." He gestured to a row of chairs, two of which held the two agents in question.

"Off all people to send to Amity. Those fools were the best we could do. Unfortunately, very few agents in the G.I.W. have much regard for public safety."

A.C. glanced at me, "It wasn't many years ago that more people were heroes like firemen, and policemen. Nowadays it seems to be a select few." He turned to me, "Kid, you've got the potential to help a lot of people. Just look at what you did today. You don't know these people and yet you helped them." He pointed out the door, "kid, if you don't have a ride, I'd like to get you to a hospital."

"But, I really am Okay." I tried to persuade.

"Kid, I know you're not okay, and I know you're the type that thinks very little of himself when others are in danger." He looked at me harshly, "Don't follow the rest of this world kid. Make something of yourself, because you've got it in you to do so. Remember, you can't help anyone if you loose track of your own sake."

I was nervous and shocked to hear that from a G.I.W. agent, "Yes sir."

He nodded, "Good." Then he walked away to join the other agents.

* * *

><p>(POV change: Narrator)<p>

Agent C walked up to his fellow agents.

"Sir?" Agent K asked.

"Out with it." Agent C snapped.

"Yes, Sir," Agent K said, standing erect with Agent O. "The news station crews have arrived, Sir. They're demanding to see you. Local law enforcements can hardly manage to keep them out of the crime scene."

"Good," Agent C replied.

"Sir?" Agent O questioned.

"Boys," Agent C began. "You've got an awful lot to learn. I'll start by teaching you how to take advantage of a situation like this…"

* * *

><p>Dun-Dun-DUH! <strong>Suspence<strong>…

I needed a cute little kid to show up and make me laugh. I want to bring Amity Park to life and show the people outside of the main cast.

-Danny doesn't need to rely on his eyes too much while in Phantom form. (It's one of the ghost sense benefits; I've mentioned only one a few times in previous chapters.) He feels his environment as much as he sees it. Now try and figure out what I mean by telling you that.

-"POPP's away!" = Phantom Over Powering Plan…POPP's…Gosh I am so crazy! All right everyone! Review, and cast your vote!

Out of my CRAZY acronyms: which is the most embarrassing?

-The F.A.P.S. (Fenton Amity Park Scanner?)

-POPP's (Phantom Over Powering Plan?)

…

-The A = Agent etc, might seem a little excessive sometimes. The way I see it (since they can't use their real names) amongst friends, the G.I.W. just use the one letter. Obviously, Danny isn't one of their friends, so he adds the "A" to show distaste and for obscurity (so he can talk around those who don't know any better.)

As always! See you Sunday!


	12. It Can Only Get Worse

Drumroll please! The results for the POPP's Vs. F.A.P.S. competition are!

POPP's: 5!

F.A.P.S.: 0….Wa-wa-WAH.

Thanks to all whom casted their vote!

I don't own DP, or Flubber…Confused yet?

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: It Can Only Get Worse…<p>

(POV: Narrator.)

"Sir?" Agent O asked.

"Boys," Agent C began. "You've got an awful lot to learn. I'll start by teaching you how to take the advantage in a situation like this…"

Agents K and O raised their eyebrows. "But Sir," Agent K began, "shouldn't we just leave?"

"Yeah," Agent O replied, "And focus on a new plan for defeating that Phantom punk."

Agent C groaned loudly, "Listen to me. Keep your mouths shut, and learn as much as you possibly can from this." He abruptly turned around, and walked out of the store. Agents K and O followed awkwardly.

The scene around the sight of the ghost fight was stressful to say the least. Reporters, curious Phantom fans, and angry Phantom haters, all pushed to get a closer look. The shouts and camera flashes only increased when the G.I.W. agents emerged into the open. Agent C walked up to a large group of reporters.

An officer broke away from the human-barricade to walk up to the Agents. "Sir," he addressed Agent C, "we're having a hard time getting this situation under control. It might be best for you to leave now."

Agent C's expression was unwavering, "Thank you; but I have no intention of leaving. I'll assist here."

The officer almost looked amused, "Suit yourself." He dove back into the fray to help his fellow officers.

"O, K," Agent C said harshly, "Line up and look as calm as you can. If this goes on much longer, the police will have to resort to violent force."

"Yes, Sir," the Agents responded, and obeyed.

Agent C stood mere steps away from the wild crowd. He ignored the overwhelming amount of questions, and raised his hand.

"SILENCE," Agent C said, with animosity that could thicken air. The majority of the crowd quieted down immediately. Agent C let his hand down, "Now, I can answer your questions in a civil, calm, and honest manner; but only if you listen to me. If you want answers, you must be professional. Any who disobey this guideline will be hauled away by the police."

The crowd murmured excited agreements, which allowed the officers to relax a little. Agent C walked closer to the reporters. A few brave (or foolish) people started asking spit fire questions all over again.

"BE QUIET," Agent C asserted, "this is my final warning. Raise your hand until I call on you. Until I call on you, you will remain silent, I will answer questions as I please. You'd best not get on my bad side."

Everyone in the area instantly raised at least one hand.

Agent C didn't look surprised, "You," he pointed to a male reporter from Channel 8, whose eager cameraman was still recording. "Ask your question."

"Thank you, Sir." The redheaded reporter held his microphone confidently. "Can you confirm that Phantom was involved in the fight that took place here an hour ago?"

"Yes, Phantom was involved. His opponent was the ghost who calls himself Skulker." Agent C scanned the shaking hands with disinterest. "You," he pointed to a female reporter.

"Thank you, Sir. Tell me, did you manage to successfully capture Phantom?"

The tension in the air grew, "Phantom ran scared before we could properly subdue him. All he exists for is to bully those lesser then he is; but we are not lesser then him. He encourages ghosts to show up with his presence, then he battles them to fulfill his sick purpose. He doesn't care what poor soul gets caught in the crossfire, either." Agent C paused, "He didn't even hesitate to aggressively fight against three humans."

He moved on, "Was anyone seriously hurt by the fight?" Asked a reporter.

"There were many minor and severe injuries as a result of Phantom's actions. Add to this, the property damage and civil unease, and the total damage shows itself to be even more dire in that combined form."

Agent C moved on to a few civilians.

"Was Phantom, like, hurt or something?" Some young blonde asked.

"We got a good shot in, that's why he ran scared. It appears he can't take what he dishes out."

Agent C moved on to a male civilian; cameras still observed his every move, and word. "How did Phantom escape?"

"He exited combat mode, so our satellite couldn't pick him up. Normally all Agents carry Portable Ghost Detectors; but seeing as we were rushed here so rashly, we failed to grab ours." Certain two agents flinched behind Agent C.

Agent C continued to answer various questions from the crowd…

* * *

><p>(POV change: Danny.)<p>

I walked up to the checkout. Everything had settled down quite a bit, and the store had begun to reorganize. There was still only one cashier at the ready. Earlier, I'd scanned the store, looking to complete a replacement outfit. Luckily, I found a pair of dark navy-blue-jeans in my size. I'd also found a neat hat; it was leaf-green, and read across the front "Ghost-Buster." I knew Jazz would get a kick out of it.

I walked op to the cashier-lady. She still seemed a little frazzled, "Well, thank you for not looting."

I placed the hat and jeans down for her. "Uh, no problem. Hey, can I change in your bathroom and wear these out? My clothes got kind of messed up and-"

"Sure, no problem." She scanned the hat and jeans; then she grabbed my jacket sleeve.

Her action pulled the sleeve enough to engulf my hand, "You sure you don't want a smaller size?"

"I'm sure. I've still got growing to do anyway, and I won't really need it till winter, so…"

"Suit yourself." She took off the magnetic security tag.

The total cost was $42.98. I reached for my wallet...It didn't seem to be there. I dug around a little, and grabbed it suddenly.

_Huh, that's weird,_ I thought._ That usually only happens when…_

I dismissed the thought, and paid for the items. I left the frazzled cashier-lady's checkout station, and entered the bathroom. Once inside, I looked in the mirror to investigate the jacket I'd been prancing around in. It was patterned in camouflage, three shades of green. I giggled at the message on the chest.

"**If you can read this…then the camouflage obviously isn't working."**

Tucker would get a laugh out of that one. I smiled and toyed with the jacket hood. Then I looked at the reflection of my face. "Huh," I said, "That's weird…"

* * *

><p>(POV change: Jazz Fenton.)<p>

Yes, I was still watching the news while Sam and Tucker were down in the lab. Yes, I realized that Danny getting into a fight at the mall…AGAIN, was a bad thing.

Yes, I completely panicked and ran out of the house armed with nothing but the Fenton peeler. No, I didn't think that reacting like that was a horrible idea. After all, Danny was only fighting Skulker…

I repeat, WAS fighting Skulker. I hadn't seen tell or tale of my little brother when Skulker nearly _crushed _me! He came flying at me screaming and spinning like a Frisbee! I dashed around desperately for cover. I'm not the best ghost fighter around; but the Fenton-peeler needed time to activate! I hardly had time to blink.

Finally, I found a place large enough for me to stand and hide in. I pulled the Fenton-peeler from my handbag then stretched out my arm and activated it. The impressive sequence lasted about ten seconds; just enough time for Skulker to recover.

He fired a poorly aimed shot in my direction. It sizzled past me and impacted an old garbage can.

I darted out from behind my useless shelter, "Freeze ghost!" I shouted at him.

He raised his eyebrows and stood up, and looked at me quite casually. "Oh," He began, "It's just you."

I furrowed my brow, "What do you mean by that, ghost?"

Skulker shrugged his shoulders, "Well, you're the whelps' older sister, Jazz, correct?"

I nodded, slightly afraid that I shouldn't confirm it, "Correct, and what of it?"

"Well, you're useless, and weak."

…Oh, no he didn't. I charged the Fenton-peeler and fired. Skulker yelped in surprise and barely managed to dodge.

I kept firing and using the armored suit to my greatest advantage. Skulker soon found his footing enough to fire missiles at me, I lifted my fist in response and triggered the peeling mechanism in the cuff. The missiles disintegrated; but the peeler didn't stop there. Oh, no, that loud mouth had to get his just-deserts! His armor peeled away and revealed his scrawny green form.

I allowed the peeler to cool down before I approached his tiny form. I picked him up by his stubby legs, "Whose useless now, flubber-ghost?"

Skulker squirmed, "How dare you mock me! I am Skulker! The Ghost Zones' greatest hunter!"

I hardly heard him over my, "I won; It's my birthday, it's my birthday," chant, and dance.

"Must you mock me, so? Puny human?" Skulker complained.

"Cry all you want ghost! That'll never stop me from putting you in the…Fenton thermos?" I face palmed, I'd left the Fenton-thermos at home! In my mental rant of self-pity and embarrassment, I let my grip slip.

Skulker landed on the ground, "HA! You cannot bind me forever, Whelp!" With that, he scurried off and left me to wallow in my humiliation.

_Well, _I thought,_ at least no one got hurt and nothing got damaged! Danny will be so proud of me!_

My peppy-ness took over, so I deactivated the Fenton-peeler and entered the mall to find my kid-brother…

* * *

><p>Author, speaking! Sorry, Jazz. I think Danny might get jealous of you at this point…<p>

**REVIEW!** And submit a question you'd like Danny (Jazz or reporter or Civilian) to ask Agent C! The opportunity for their next meeting will come next chapter. Danny will be a civilian; that Agent C, will practically do an interview with.

Don't be afraid; suggest anything! The sooner the better!

Explanations…

#1. The wallet is reference to Danny's cell phone; which seems to stay in his pocket Fenton or Phantom, as well as before or after he transforms. I just put a twist to it; Phantom's pockets are kind of like portals to Fenton's pockets. This way he can access things and not worry about breaking them in battle..now figure out what I mean by telling you that. ;)

#2. In the DP show, they don't have ghost-detecting satellites. They're only portable/land based ghost detectors. From watching the show, the portable devices seem to only-

-Categorize a ghost, as a ghost. They don't ever say, "The Box-Ghost is directly ahead…Fear me." They Just say, "Ghost ahead." Etc.

-The advantage to the portable ghost detectors is that they can detect a ghost no matter what active state it's in.

The satellite, on the other hand here-

-Tells you in detail exactly who the ghost is, and where the ghost is. (Like we've seen.)

-The disadvantage is that ghosts can't be detected unless they're highly active. (This usually means fighting; but if a really powerful ghost like an Ancient/Clockwork/Pariah Dark showed up, they'd get picked up even while dormant.)

I'm mean for leaving you there; but still.

See you Sunday!


	13. Ebony, and Irony

Special shout out to DPraven! You are my 50Th review EVER! Giver your lucky self a pat on the back. :)

-Thank you, too everyone who submitted a question! I'm going to number your questions in this chapter. Numbers are as follows, in the order the questions appear in this chapter! Everyone get's their credit!

Oak Leaf Ninja -you're (#1) and you're also #1. :)

ckittykatty –you're (#2)

supaherolena02 –you're (#3.) I used both of your suggestions :)

Chad's Shortstack –you're (#4)

I don't own DP, and watch out for the POV jumps!..and the chapter title...

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Ebony and Irony.<p>

(Danny's POV.)

_Huh,_ I thought, _that's weird._

I gazed at my reflection in confused thought. How could this be? Why didn't anyone notice? I bit my lip and started pacing around the bathroom.

_This could explain why Andy new my name,_ I continued pacing in frantic though, _but how? Agent C didn't seem to notice…_

I paused mid step. He didn't realize…did he? No, there's no way he would've been that nice if he had notice. I toyed with my oversized jacket-sleeves, anxiously. He really hadn't noticed anything. No one had noticed, actually…

My pacing began again as I brainstormed a way to test this.

I spoke out loud and addressed the empty bathroom. That wasn't crazy thing to do at all, "Okay Danny. Think; how can you use this?" I paused, "Nothing! Darn, come on, think, think, think! Think of something!"

Just then, I sensed that my cell phone rang in my pocket. I reached into my pocket and grabbed the noisy thing. The caller ID said it was Sam's cell. I flipped the phone open and put it to my ear.

"Yellow?" I said.

"Danny, stop that. You know I can't stand it when you answer the phone like- AW MAN, that, that! Focus Sam, that's not what you're calling Danny for!"

I flinched away from the phone, glad I wasn't alone in the loony bin. I replaced the cell phone back against my ear, "Okay, then, what did you call me about?"

"Oh, right, you're still on? It's Agent C. He's talking to the reporters. He's talking nothing but lies, and, and just. How DARE he!"

I thanked my lucky stars that Sam wasn't my enemy, "Relax, Sam. The G.I.W. always talks smack about me. Vlad does the same as Mayor, and even that doesn't bother me much anymore."

Sam sighed; a woman's code for 'you are a nitwit,' "Danny, this guy isn't like Vlad. He's not really taking sides. He's just using half-truths to tip the scales in his favor. Gosh it's so sick!"

"How bad can it really be Sam? We've dealt with worse-"

"He just hinted that you abandoned Max and Shelly at the mall because you were to preoccupied with yourself to notice the people you endangered."

My fists tightened, "WHAT? I would _never_ have left them behind if I didn't have to save Ember! What else is this guy saying?"

"He basically saying that Phantom-you doesn't care. He's saying that you'd abandon us and ally with ghosts if things got bad."

One more lie and I would've crushed my phone. "Does this guy," I began, "even have the SLIGHEST CLUE of what we've been through? What rank pit is he pulling this garbage out of? Did he just suddenly forget Pariah's invasion? All the ghosts?"

"Danny calm down. Where are you, anyway?"

I relaxed, glad for the subject change, "I'm at the mall; why?"

There was a pause, "That's where A.C. is…I think he's just outside the food court, where apparently you fought Skulker. Tucker and I have been watching him live on the news pretty much since we heard Jazz drive off."

"Wait, Jazz drove off? Where is she? Is she okay?" I always got touchy at the slightest sign of a certain unchecked big sister.

"We don't know. She's probably headed for the mall, though. She left her cell phone here."

"Okay, I'll look for her. Keep an eye on the news for me, will you?"

"No problem, Danny. When will your parents be home, by the way?"

I shrugged my shoulders "I don't know, really." I heard the front door bang open, followed by some loud noises.

"Was that, them?"

"Yep."

"Did they practically break down the door, again?"

"Yep."

"Did anyone get hurt?"

"Nope. Don't worry, Danny. It takes more then your dad's weight to _completely_ crush Tucker." I heard of few background noises, "Oh boy, got to go. Call me if something comes up."

"I will…" I hung up.

I looked into the mirror and tossed ideas around in my head. Eventually, I settled for putting on my new jeans and layering my hat underneath my jacket hood. I left the bathroom reminding myself how crazy I was for leaving in that state. I just couldn't stop my feet from moving; I had to test it a little more…

* * *

><p>(POV change: Jazz Fenton.)<p>

I entered the mall and stepped cautiously on the broken glass that littered the floor. Why did I wear sandals to a ghost fight? My hair was crazy and messy. The Fenton-Peeler obviously needed a few adjustments to handle long hair neatly.

It didn't take long before the reporters came into view. Well, reporters and random people that couldn't help but stick around. I briefly scanned the crowd for Danny, then I remembered he could fly…as if he'd stick around. I reached in my pocket for my cell phone…aw man. I'd forgotten it back at home!

I sighed and wondered what the odds were that someone would lend me their phone with all the excitement that was going on…

* * *

><p>(POV change: Danny.)<p>

I decided to walk back into the mall way just outside the food court. I followed along the yellow-crime-scene tape until I could see where everyone was gathered.

Sam had been right. A.C. was manipulating the reporters, and through them, the world. I cringed; if this whole fiasco didn't end up on the worldwide news, I'd eat my new hat.

I walked a little closer and scanned the crowd for anything worth noticing. I found Jazz doing the same and for the first time that day, I relaxed. Jazz was safe; my first thought was that Skulker ran scared after the G.I.W. showed up.

I walked up behind her, "Hey Sis, did you need something?"

* * *

><p>(POV change: Jazz Fenton.)<p>

I came to the conclusion that everyone was too interested in A.C. to lend me a hand. At least I thought that was the case, I was still preoccupied with my thoughts of messy hair.

"Hey miss, did you need something?" Someone asked.

I gave a long, loud sigh, "Yeah, can I borrow your phone? I need to make a call." The boy handed me his phone. I gave him a quick glance, before I focused on the phone…"Hey," I said, "This is just like," I looked at him again.

"What?" He asked.

"Danny? Oh wow! I didn't recognize you!"

Danny tilted his head, "Why not?"

I gave him a bone-crushing hug. Normally, Danny would've complained but didn't seem too mind much at all then. "Well you're wearing that hat, and jacket, and-DANNY ARE YOU NUTS!" I grabbed his upper arms, and stared at him. "Danny, what are you? You can't go around looking that that!"

Danny huffed, "Shh! Don't shout Jazz, and don't judge me either. You're the one walking around looking like an auburn clown."

I blushed, "Well, if Skulker hadn't come around then my hair wouldn't be so messy."

This time Danny grabbed my shoulders, "Wait, Skulker came around? Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

I shoved him off of me, "He didn't hurt me, he didn't even get the chance." I whipped out the Fenton-Peeler with a sense of pride.

Danny looked at me incredulously, "You mean you fought Skulker? And you won?"

Twirling the Fenton-Peeler in my hands, I said, "Yep. Ghost didn't stand a chance against me." In a moment of pure comedy, I dropped the Fenton-peeler on my foot.

Danny snorted, "Great. So, where's the thermos?"

I paused, then hastily picked up the Fenton-Peeler, "Oh," I said, "Um, it's around…"

"You forgot it, didn't you?" Danny's tone told me that he already knew the answer.

"Yes, I forgot, and left it at home…but I still beat Skulker!" I pointed down the mall way exit and to the door. "See?" I couldn't see Skulker's armored suit remains very well; but I could tell that Danny could.

"Wow. So he just escaped? Or did you make him runaway?" I nodded my head excitedly, "And you're not hurt?" Danny asked, "He didn't hurt you, at all?"

I placed my hands on my hips, "Nope, he was nothing I couldn't handle."

"Fine, I'll admit it. I'm impressed. Happy, now?"

I smirked, "Yep." Finally, I looked closely at his outfit.

I smiled, "Nice jacket, **"If you can read this…the camouflage obviously isn't working."** I like that." _(#1) _I played with the bill of his cap, "Ha, ha; hey Danny? What's with the **"ghost-buster"** Thing?" I snickered. Danny gave me a funny look.

"Too obvious?" He asked.

I giggled, "Too ironic," I thought about it for a second, "WAY, too ironic."

He smiled, "Well, it's about to get even crazier." I didn't like the mysterious look on his face. It wasn't normal for him.

"Danny, what ever it is you're planning, tell me right now."

"Okay, fine." He huddled close into me and whispered in my ear.

I pulled away, "That's crazy!" Danny covered my mouth when a few people started to notice us.

"It's worth a shot. I swear, I'll be careful."

I bit my lip nervously, "You're going to do this no matter what I say, aren't you?"

"Yep." He sounded too perky, "So we might as well coordinate. Why don't you head home and tell Sam and Tucker I'm still alright?"

"Fine; but you are SO dead if you mess this up." I crossed my arms, "Anything else?"

Danny shifted his weight, "Yeah, don't tell the guys about this, let them figure it out."

"Fine," I turned around, and strutted away towards home…

* * *

><p>(POV change: Danny.)<p>

Jazz finally left. I stood there for a second before I turned and walked towards the crowd. It wasn't long before I managed to shove my way up front. Agent C was still going on with questions.

A male reporter anxiously shoved a microphone into the Agent's face. "If you successfully manage to capture Phantom, how will you contain him?"

A.C. tightened his jaw, "_When_ we capture Phantom; we will have various ways of containing and exhausting him."

Sounded like fun. I caught on to the 'raise your hand' thing, so I began to raise my hand.

Before I could, A.C. turned to me, "Kid, I thought I told you to get to a hospital."

I let out a 'I'm busted' chuckle, "You did, and I got myself checked over. I was told just to ice it, and take it easy for a few days." Even if I was talking to a G.I.W. agent, I still hated lying about my injuries. Especially when he actually seemed to care.

There were still many reporters, all of which were completely focused on our exchanges.

"Well? Did you have any questions of your own, Kid?"

"Yeah, um, you said that "When you capture Phantom" you'll be able to contain him, so _(#2)_ what kind of technology do you have to bring him down?"

I knew the expression that came across his face. It was that of a man who was going to brag loads on something.

"Well, we've got weapons of all types. They vary in size, damage, and portability." He patted the holster of his ecto-gun, "You see this weapon right here? I designed and made this baby myself. It's got the power of the older, larger models; but it's compacted in size, and fires an intense, short blast." He gestured back to his gun, "This is our key. Phantom didn't like getting shot by this thing one bit, and soon, these will be issued to every G.I.W. agent in the field."

I gulped and tried to move on. "So, with all the fire-power you're brining out, how many agents will it take, do you think?" My questions fired up interest in the crowd, so they didn't dare to interrupt me.

"More then three, obviously. We plan on using 'safety in numbers' to our greatest advantage"

I made a note of that, _(#3)_ "Why do you want Phantom out of the picture so badly? Have you ever thought about what would happen if Phantom wasn't there to fight the ghosts that attack the city?"

A.C. almost looked angry at the question. "If Phantom were easy to handle we wouldn't be so concerned. The G.I.W. can more then handle the ghosts that cause havoc in Amity, so nothing will change when Phantom goes away. He is the only ghost to cause concern since he is above the average power level. All other ghosts don't pose a threat"

"Above the average power level?" I paused, _(#4)_ "If Phantom was really trying, just how much damage could he actually do?" The reporters around me whispered in excitement. Apparently, no one had thought about asking that…

A.C. looked like was really thinking about his next move. Finally he spoke, "If not for the efforts of the G.I.W. Phantom would have already gone on a rampage." He spoke firmly, "Assuming that the G.I.W. wasn't around and Phantom went on such a rampage…it's easy to estimate that he'd level the city in minutes."

My eyes got wide in shock; the news cameras and reporters struggled to get a glimpse at my alarmed expression. Of course, I wasn't shocked that he could _assume_ I could level the city. I'd just never heard a G.I.W. agent admit that I was a formidable foe, let alone an abnormally _powerful_ one.

Naturally, the cameras didn't see me shocked about that. All they could see was a young kid, scared speechless over the thought of his precious home being destroyed…

I gathered my bearings, "Thank you for your time." Again, the cameras didn't see a nervous kid in deep though about the limits of his own power. All they could see was a random kid, in a hood and hat, scared to death for his safety…

"No problem." He turned back to the reporters, to answer more questions. The first few revolved around who I was. As I weaved through the crowd, I could hear A.C. explain to everyone. He said, "That Kid is a hero. He's got a good heart and a will to help others, even when it inconveniences him. Unfortunately, he was harmed like so many by Phantom, during the fight that took place here today."

I couldn't help but smirk as I broke away from the crowd. At that point quite a few people were looking at me; but I didn't care. I couldn't stop thinking about the _irony. E_verything A.C. said about Phantom and then _about Phantom. _Phantom is a villain, and yet I am a hero. Phantom is heartless, and yet I have a big heart. Phantom is powerful, and I'm just an average kid with a drive to help people.

What he didn't know was that we were the same person...and that he had dug himself into a verbal hole.

I mean _literally, _and _ironically,_ we were the same exact person. Not even a surname or hair color a as a difference.

It's what only Andy noticed, even before I did. But of course, it wouldn't be ironic if I didn't point it out…but how?

As I walked towards the exit a thought came to me. The glass had been cleaned up by the janitors there were just no doors in place yet. One of the janitors told me to be careful before he went on his way.

I started thinking. Finally I came up with half an idea, and ran with it.

Stopping abruptly, I spun around to face the crowd, now about thirty-feet in front of me. Pulling my hood off of my head, and beginning to unzip my jacket half way down, I shouted, "Hey, Agent C!"

A.C. looked up at me, his height allowed him to see me over everyone easily. Speaking of "everyone," I got everyone's attention right away. Citizens, reporters, and cameramen alike, turned to me in order to witness the cause of my sudden outburst.

I giggled like I was crazy and lifted my hat off my head, holding it like lady liberty's torch. Simultaneously, I unzipped my jacket down past my chest.

Agent C's expression just made me smile. Everyone was silenced with surprise and anticipation…

I smiled broadly and revealed the (now regenerated) DP logo on my chest, shook out my snow-white hair, and flashed my dazzling green eyes.

As I let out a laugh, I shouted the first thing I could think of, "Good talk!"

I swayed in place and put my hat on askew. Dozens of gasps could be heard, which would be echoed out in TV land. With a smile on my face, I leapt into the air and performed a mock salute. I flew out through the doors and into the sky, laughing harder then I had in a long time.

Now _this_ I looked forward to seeing on the news…

* * *

><p>(POV change: narrator.)<p>

When the crowd of people finally snapped out of their astounded stupors. Quietly, and as one, they turned to face Agent C.

Agent C laughed nervously and shrugged his shoulders, "Who would've thought, right?"

* * *

><p>AUTHORS NOTES!<p>

There you go! A fic out of a funny thought, and ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO! If you think I'm done humiliating Agent C, you're wrong! We need to see conclusion, and reactions! Which, there will be-

**REVIEW!** And tell me, who's reaction do you want to see the most? Give a few suggestions, anyone who comes to mind, really! Just remember, the only ones who can react to this soon, are the humans. So, ASK AWAY!

…

On a lesser note, somehow I see Jazz's hair being auburn; in cartoon land, orange is just an easy substitute. Yes, girls with really long hair get distracted when it's tangled. Believe me I know. ;)

As always, see you Sunday for the completion of this story!


	14. Revelations of a Hectic Public

THANK YOU! To everyone who read, reviewed, and supported me! I _never _expected for my story to be so successful, and it's all thanks to you!

I'll spare you the lengthy list of reviewers, you know who you are! But I would like to thank sapphireswimming for Beta reading me, and helping me to make so may improvements!

I don't own DP, and watch out for the POV changes. Let's read!

* * *

><p>Chapter 14: Revelations of a Hectic Public.<p>

(POV of Danny.)

I flew home; slightly more stable in flight then a drunken sailor. Could you blame me? I'd just had the ride of my life! And it wasn't even sundown.

I guess the reason why I was so hysterical, was just because I couldn't stand how simple it was. No tricks, no ghost powers, it was just me, pulling off the act of my life!

I was still wearing the jeans, jacket, and hat, when I flew over Fenton-works. After circling, and turning invisible I made a b-line for my bedroom window…

* * *

><p>(POV change: Sam Manson. We're going back in time a little)<p>

I came back into the living room, with a bag of ice. I handed it to Tucker, who placed it on his sore leg.

"Thanks, Sam." He said.

"No problem. It's not like, you wanted to get hurt." I gave an annoyed glance at Mr. Fenton. As much as I thought of the man as a second father, I couldn't help but get irritated by his lack of self-awareness. I shrugged it off. I'd learned a long time ago how not to hold grudges.

Tuck, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, and I were watching Agent C on the news. I didn't know which station, but it didn't matter; they were all likely airing the same thing. This was a big deal, after all.

It was everyday that a ghost came around. However, it wasn't everyday that the GIW suddenly made a huge deal, apparently, over just Danny Phantom. From the second a new, high-ranking agent came around, the game changed.

At least it was that way for everyone else. All Team-Phantom could see, was an overall smaller version of Vlad, poking his nose around the ghostly side of Amity Park.

I focused on Agent C, again. He'd called on a random reporter.

"Thank you, sir. Can you tell us, why do you think that Phantom's so "selfish," and "untrustworthy?"

AC smiled slightly, "I don't formulate my facts baselessly. Phantom is a ghost, and therefore, speaks more with his actions." AC shook his head slightly, "You will all recall, the incident that took place in this very mall. Two members of a news crew were stranded, and left to the explosion. By video, and victim's account, Phantom did nothing to stop the blast, nor help those in danger. That seems selfish to me, and I surely wouldn't trust him within fifty-miles of my family."

I couldn't stand to watch it anymore; so I went to the kitchen for snacks after receiving requests for fudge, and soda. I returned with the objects in a minute, and handed them to the requestors.

My wrath finally settled down, I tried to watch the TV. Mr. Fenton slurped so loudly from his ridiculous soda-drinking hat that I hardly heard Jazz pull up in her convertible.

At the same time, I heard Agent C say over the TV, "Kid, I thought I told you to get to a hospital."

I turned to the TV, startled to hear his change in tone. Who was this "Kid?" Tucker seemed to be thinking the same exact thing, when the camera jerked to get an image some kid in a hood, and hat.

_Nice combo,_ I thought, and blinked, a familiar feeling churning in my stomach. Call it 'woman's intuition' but I could've sworn I knew the guy.

Jazz came through the front door, looking like a real mess. She collapsed on the couch, right next to me.

We leaned in closer, "Jazz?" I asked, "Where's Danny?"

She looked at me, then back to the Television, nervously. "Just watch," she said.

I took her advice, passing the call for attention on to Tucker…

It only took me a second to match Danny's voice with his person. I turned to Jazz, and asked her what the heck he was thinking.

"I don't know;" she answered, "what I do know, is that Danny seemed confident enough. I'm going to trust him."

"And I'm going to slug him," I retorted. Then I whispered the revelation to Tuck, who gulped, and echoed Jazz's words about "trust" which; by the way, weren't going to stop me from lecturing Danny into next week, about this.

We watched on, in my womanly wrath I analyzed every word in Danny and Agent C's exchanges. The camera was a little shaky, and unfocused; but when I looked closely, I realized how green Danny's eyes looked on camera. _Unless,_ I thought, _oh Danny, you better not be doing, what I think you're doing. _I processed the possibly painful consequences of his little stunt, when the conversation abruptly ended, and Danny walked away nervously.

Mrs. Fenton checked the TV again, making sure that everything had been recorded.

Her brow furrowed in worry, "Jack?" she asked her husband, "Do you think, that what Agent C said about Phantom's strength, was true?"

"Of course, honey-bunch!" Mr. Fenton replied confidently, "The GIW would never underestimate Phantom! And no, no good lousy ghost could ever fool the Guys In White! Especially the ghost-boy!"

Mrs. Fenton frowned, but didn't push the matter, "I guess you're right sweetheart."

She settled back in, and continued watching with everyone.

AC called on a reporter, "Who was that young man?"

Agent C almost looked a little proud, "That kid, is a hero. He's got a good heart, and a will to help others, even if it inconveniences him. Unfortunately, he was harmed, like so many, by Phantom. During the fight that took place here today."

Multiple grunts of sympathy could be heard from the crowd. I just smiled to myself, thinking that; maybe I wouldn't chew Danny off for this.

"That poor boy," Mrs. Fenton said, "he looked no older then our Danny."

Mr. Fenton paused between mouthfuls, "That's it! Hey Mads, didn't he look a lot like our Danny?"

"Nope!" Jazz popped up, grabbing her parents attention, "Danny's, um, been sleeping all day!"

"Besides," Tucker supported, "Danny's eyes are blue, and he has a stronger jaw, too."

"Yeah," I chimed in, "And, he wouldn't be caught dead in those clothes." Tucker, Jazz, and I caught the hidden ironic quip, and laughed it off nervously.

_Still, _I thought, _I guess, since there's no damage, I can let Danny of the hook for this one._ I smiled to myself.

"Hey Agent C!" I heard Danny's voice ring through the TV. The cameraman shook, and around, catching a full-view of Danny by the exit.

I could hear him giggling like a madman. He took off his hat, and unzipped his jacket. My eyes bulged out of my head; he wasn't actually _doing_ this, was he?

Danny's giggles turned into hysterical laughter, "Good talk!" he shouted, put his hat back on, and jumped into the air. He saluted, and then dove out of the exit, laughing loudly.

Every single one us gasped dramatically. The crowed on the TV did the same, then slowly and as one, they turned back to Agent C. He laughed nervously, and shrugged his shoulders, "Who would've thought, right?"

Silently, and without being asked, Tucker turned off the TV. We all just sat there for a moment, waiting to see who would make the first move…

Finally, Tucker spoke up, "Did that just happen?"

Jazz piped up, "Is he CRAZY?"

Mrs. Fenton dove for the recorded video, "What kind of no-good dirty tricks did Phantom use? How did we not see through this?"

I boomed, "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"

Mr. Fenton dropped his popcorn, "GHOST!" He grabbed his wife by the wrist, "To the lab!" Then he dragged her down to the basement…

The human members of Team Phantom stood silently for a moment.

"I'll ask it again," Tucker said. "Did that just happen?"

* * *

><p>(POV change: V-Man) :)<p>

I had been watching the news from inside my mayor's office. I must say I was quite surprised at Agent C's openness. The things he claimed about young Daniel's powers made me quite nervous.

But; his claims were not set in full until some hooligan in a 'cool get-up' began asking some of the more, shall we say, pressing questions…

"Destroy the city in minutes?" I'm not sure what I found more outrageous! The fact that he OPENLY STATED THAT!

Or the fact, that I believed it…

I knew, since the second I learned of Daniel's hybrid status; that he had potential. The first of that potential, made itself known as 'brute strength' but somehow, Danny stayed…innocent in regards to his own power. Power that was growing at a much faster rate, then I ever dreamed for myself.

I turned back to the TV, and addressed my thoughts to an empty room.

"Daniel, it's going to me much, much more difficult for the both of us. I fear that we may have to cooperate more, as the threat closes in on our secret…"

"_Hey, Agent C!"_ My eyes turned toe the Television immediately, reacting to the sound of Daniel's voice.

Daniel was the hooligan, laughing like a goof, showing for the _entire world_ his Phantom form in a _very _obvious set of human clothes.

"_Good talk!"_ He shouted, then his form disappeared from the cameras sight.

Those cameras turned back to Agent C, who shrugged his shoulders, _"Who would've thought, right?"_

I was speechless for a moment, "Or," I began, "you can just THROW AWAY ALL OF OUR HARD WORK, AND GIVE THE WORLD A HUDGE CLUE!"

I calmed myself, what Danny did couldn't be changed; but if I played my cards right, I could reverse the damage.

I just had to make sure that any falling would be on Daniel's part…

* * *

><p>(POV change: narrator.)<p>

"Who would've thought, right?" Agent C laughed nervously. He reached up to rub his neck, secretively activating his jetpack.

His protective suit engulfed him, as the rockets warmed up, "Agents, report back to HQ immediately!"

"Yes, Sir!" the Agents K, and O answered.

They followed Phantom's exit route, before turning around, and towards Amity Park's GIW head quarters…

_One day later…_

"Agent C!" the five-star agent, and head-honcho of the GIW headquarters shouted.

"Yes, Boss?" Agent C asked meekly.

The "boss," Agent X showed no sings of mercy, "In light of the recent events, where you have shown lack of observation, misuse of information, and lack of COMMON SENCE. This agency, has decided to strip you, of your three stars."

Agent X ripped said stars right off of Agent C's uniform. "You will remain stationed in Amity Park, until further notice. Your movements will be monitored, and orders will be sent in regularly, along with an agent to check your progress. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir." Agent C clenched his jaw, and suppressed thoughts of previous years of hard work.

"Good. C, you'd best not forget your position in this agency. You will continue to show respect, and obedience to your higher ranking agents."

"Yes, Sir."

"You're excused." Agent X said harshly.

The now, zero-starred Agent C, left X's office with the remains of his pride in tatters. He trudged down the hallway for a moment, before he heard someone calling for him.

It was Agents K, and O. They jogged up to him with proud smiles plastered on their faces.

"Hey Agent C!" Agent K shouted, gesturing to his shoulder.

"Guess what?" Agent O chimed in, performing the same gesture.

"WE GOT OUR FIRST STARS!" They shouted together…

The resounding shout of "NO!" was echoed throughout the GIW head quarters…

* * *

><p>(POV change: Danny.)<p>

I flew into my room, and ran immediately to my mirror. I looked quite crazy; my hair was messy under my hat, and my jacket hung loose on my shoulders.

Thinking fast and planning ahead, I took off the items and phased them into the wall. I'd deal with them later.

I transformed back into my human self, smiling at the relaxing sensation. Holding the smile, I headed out my bedroom door, and started down the stairs.

That is, until I made eye contact with Sam. Then I made a b-line for the sanctuary of my room.

Hey, it's not like; you had to ask her what she was so upset about. One look, and I knew.

I could hear the thunderous sound of combat-boots stomping on the floor, when I shut, and locked my bedroom door behind me. I knew I was going to get in trouble for pulling that little stunt; I just hadn't figured that Sam would already be in my house…

Sam pounded on the door, "DANNY, YOU OPEN UP!" She boomed.

"No!" I replied terrified, "If I do; you'll kill me!"

"Better me, then the Guys In White, Danny!"

"Danny!" Jazz shouted, "We seriously need to talk about this!"

I paused, but gave in anyway, "Fine; but only if Sam doesn't attack me. Agreed?"

"Fine," Sam replied, "but you've got five minutes to convince me why I shouldn't kill you."

Tucker tried to add something, "cause you've got a crush-?" I heard a slapping nose followed by an, "Ouch."

I opened the door and let Tuck, Sam, and Jazz in; they all took their preferred seats, at my desk and bed.

"Alright." Sam said loudly, "Five minutes starts right now."

Taking a very deep breath, I gathered up the courage to explain myself, "Well," I started weakly, "it really was a spur of the moment idea, and no one ever even knew." Sam still didn't look impressed, "Look, lets see how this all plays out, okay? If someone goes stomping around and magically connects Fenton, and Phantom; THEN you can mutilate me."

Sam gave me a considering look, "Fine; but Danny that doesn't get you out of a lecture."

I groaned, and then cut myself off when she gave me a sharp look.

"Look, Danny," she started, "Just because you managed to pull this off, doesn't mean that they won't figure something out. What if they start looking for Phantom in the streets?"

She had my attention, "They won't find him. Trust me, this was a one-time fluke, and it's never going to happen again."

"But, Danny," Tucker piped up, "What if they get the idea that maybe, Phantom can disguise himself? And then, start looking for anyone resembling Phantom, like maybe_ Fenton_?"

My eyes got wide, I hadn't thought about that, "Well, the GIW had a chance to compare Fenton with Phantom once, and they couldn't see the similarities."

Jazz gave that long, weary, womanly sigh of 'you are an idiot,' "Danny, guys. This obviously isn't settled yet. We just have to wait a day or two, and see what the public thinks about all this." She stood up, "They'll probably realize that you really were just wearing clothing, no tricks. How they react to that is my biggest worry…"

We all feel silent, considering Jazz's words carefully. Eventually, it got late and Sam, and Tucker left. Just before that, Sam was nice, and gave a quick apology for acting out so harshly.

"I was just so afraid," she began, "that you would wind up…in a bad situation. You know? I'm sorry…"

I told her, "Don't be, the fear of you prevents me form doing anything _too_ stupid." She smiled at that, and went home…

_Two days later…_

As a team, we all watched the news, read popular sites, and kept an eye on the GIW. Nothing was more important to us, then my secret staying secret.

Turns out, Jazz was mostly right; she really hit the nail on the head this time around.

Those cameras? The ones in the store that I first thought caught Phantom-going-Fenton? They were working at the time. The video was quite clear; Phantom crashed into the clothing racks, slipped on a jacket, and went on the help those in need.

Everyone started doubting Agent C at this point. He called me "selfish" and "untrustworthy," and yet there I was: selflessly helping others, and gaining Agent C's trust.

He got in BIG trouble by the way. The media went CRAZY over the negative things he said about Phantom, when clearly in the store, he trusted and respected me. He also said I had a, "big heart."

This has lead a lot of Phantom haters (ergo, GIW fans) to doubt themselves, and a lot of Phantom Phans finding themselves _agreeing _with a GIW agent for once.

Then of course the mystery of Phantom went on further. The biggest cry out was, 'how did he come by the clothes he was wearing?'

Thankfully, this was also caught on camera. This lead to the next big question, 'where the heck did Phantom get cash?' Accusations of theft went rampant, in a good way. The few people, who thought that possibly, Phantom disguised himself as a human and worked a job, were drowned out.

In fact, a lot of people who had a clue were silenced by the masses that didn't. After a while, they all bought into a pretty basic concept.

Everyone agreed that Phantom put the jacket on, in a spur of the moment. Then he helped everyone, and paid for the clothes (though, no one could agree on where the money came from.) After this he went into the mall, and wasn't caught on the news cameras until a few minutes later.

Then they called in experts like psychiatrists, and ghost researchers. They got together, and analyzed the film. Then they released a group, public statement…

"From analyzing the video taken from various places in the mall, we can assume that: A) Phantom (though not necessarily selfless,) cares for the sake of those around him, and will work to help them. B) Phantom (according to witness observation) has impressive people skills. C) Phantom undoubtedly looks _extremely _human, and used no unearthly power to trick those around him, otherwise he would have been detected. And D) he has a sense of humor."

I liked "D" the most. Speaking of humor, and letters; Agent C became a laughing stock for being so clueless.

Channel five's new anchor Derik Andrews, couldn't have said it better, "Considering the fact, that Phantom was wearing a jacket proclaiming that he _wanted _to be seen, and a hat that said **'ghost buster.' **I would judge that, Phantom's little escapade was allowed by the lack of attention, on the GIW Agent C's part."

I almost felt bad for AC; after all, he's not the only one that didn't notice.

I also didn't have to worry too much about anyone suspecting my hat, or jacket. The items became a hot combo all around the world, because of Phantom.

The media, polled that the general populace didn't at first realize Phantom was on the TV. In fact, generally people didn't even think I was familiar to them. The only problem, as Jazz and Sam were so concerned about, was now everyone knew what Phantom's face looked like.

Phantom, and Fenton would be avoiding the cameras for a while, and the mall.

So, there you go. Agent C was humiliated on a global scale, and Phantom's name was broadcasted just as far. The GIW kept quiet, trying to hide their embarrassing mistake, and I had yet to see anything of Vlad.

The days passed by, and Amity Park stayed a hot topic; Sam didn't kill me, life went on as usual for team Phantom.

Which is a good thing, because Halloween's just around the corner…

THE END. FOR NOW.

* * *

><p>Gosh this chapter is so long, and-<p>

COMPLETE! Glad I got this up, (even though I was rushing) and hopefully the reactions are good. This would've been up a little earlier; but I just HAD to put Vlad in there! I almost pity AC, and boy, has this week has left me swamped! For those of you, who'll review this and shout-

'OH ME GOSH, THE AUTHOR LEFT A STORY UNTOLD! WHAT ABOUT MAC, AND SHELLY?'

Don't worry about it guys…there's going to be a sequel, the extended-summary is on my profile page. A weekly update as usual, MAYBE starting next week. I might take a week off to get my ideas together.

But as always! See you Sunday!


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